Sold My Soul
by macrauchenia
Summary: "'Wally' 'No.' Ice coursed through Nightwing's veins. Kaldur stepped into the dim lighting of the abandoned warehouse, his hard expression partially concealed by shadows. Wally was nowhere in sight." An AUish story where Kaldur truly was evil, and Wally came just a little bit too late. Set at the end of "Depths"
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Sold My Soul  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Young Justice nor Young Justice Invasion. The belong to their awesome, but respective, owners.  
**Info About This Fic: **It's a sort of AU where Kaldur was evil and the plan in Depths didn't work out too well for Artie. Please tell me if you want me to continue. This originally was meant to be a OneShot, but I kind of have a semiplot if you guys want more.  
**Rating:** T- There's blood and Nightwing bashing, but not too bad.  
**Author's Note: **I'm amazing no one else has thought of this yet. This is pretty much what happened in my head after I saw the whole "Wally?" "No." -Insert badass Kaldur stare- thing.

* * *

"We'll laugh about this someday." Nightwing's voice was low and thick. He stared at the picture, trying to absorb every single detail about the archer who had once been such an outsider to them. Dick stared enviously at the glowing image. Back then everything was easy. It was simple. There was no death. There was always someone there to protect them.

_Yeah, well, we aren't kids anymore. _Dick swallowed the rising sting in his throat and shut down the holographic image. There was suddenly a low, scuffling noise somewhere behind him as if someone was trying to push something heavy. It felt like he couldn't breathe as he waited the agonizingly long seconds for Wally to appear.

_Wally, I don't want to do this. She was my friend too. _The new leader of the team was desperately trying to come up with a soft way to break the terrible news about Artemis. Each new way was worse than the previous and made Dick furious at himself. _It sounds like I'm making excuses. There is no excuse for what happened. It's all my fault that Artemis is dead. _Finally coming up with a tolerable way to explain things, Nightwing waited for his ginger friend to appear. He half wished that Wally didn't show up, so he didn't have to say what he needed to.

Fifteen seconds passed from when Dick had heard the jarringly loud noise. _Where is he? _He expected his friend to be there instantly to see Artemis. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up slightly. Nightwing squinted at a barely moving shadow. _Does he already know? Is that why he's hiding?_

"Wally?" Nightwing whispered, trying to hold his shaking voice as steady as possible.

"No."

Ice seemed to course through the younger boy's veins. Kaldur stepped into the dull light, the flickering spotlight overhead casting ominous shadows across his dark face. Although the Atlantean's face showed little emotion, his eyes glowed with a satisfied light. A million emotions ran through Dick's body in that instant, but he could form none of them into words. The whites in his domino mask widened dramatically, and his mouth parted slowly in shock.

A small, humorless smirk pulled at the corner of Kaldur's mouth. "We meet again. It's a pity that Wally is not present. I haven't seen him in years." He glanced around the abandoned warehouse, light olive eyes taking in every possible nook and cranny. "I assume neither the Kryptonian nor the Martian is in attendance either?"

The firm slash that served as Nightwing's mouth provided the answer. He still couldn't speak yet. The main emotion that was flowing through his body at the moment was rage. The two stared at each other in silence. They were about the same height now, but that was about as far as the similarities went. While Nightwing was slim and fit in his tight costume, Kaldur's costume was bulky and accented his large muscles rather well. The blue bird on Nightwing's chest seemed to be the epitome of hope, and the glowing red on Kaldur's uniform was the embodiment of evil. Dick's face was pale at seeing his former teammate, but Kaldur's face was darker than usual due to his sinister expression and the shadows in the warehouse.

Finally Nightwing was able to choke something out. "What do you want, Kaldur?"

The Atlantean tilted his head to the right. "I've come to tie up," he paused, "some loose ends." Kaldur's hands strayed towards his twin water bearers. Suddenly he pulled them out and swung at his former friend with a grunt. Nightwing flipped backwards just in time to avoid being sliced by two swords. The memory of seeing them inside Artemis caused Dick to briefly lose concentration. He tried to throw a birdarang as the Atlantean, but it spun off target.

"You seem to be failing, old friend," Kaldur began, his tone almost that of a friendly conversation.

Crouched down in a fighting position, Nightwing glared at his opponent. He ignored the initial comment. "Why, Kaldur? Why did you kill Artemis?"

Instead of answering, Kaldur rushed at Nightwing, swords transforming into a large hammer en route. Instantly Dick's escrima sticks were out, and they flashed as they deflected Kaldur's weapon. The more agile one flipped over the former Aqualad, landing a solid kick on Kaldur's back. Unfortunately for Dick, Kaldur spun around fast enough to clip him with his water mallet. Nightwing's landing was awkward, but he jumped back up quickly, already back into the fighting position.

The two young men paused to evaluate their opponents. Dick took the time to repeat his question. "Why did you kill Artemis?" Kaldur's stolid face gave no indication that he heard him. "She was our _friend,_ Kaldur. She had saved your life before. This was her first mission in _years. _You should have gone after me instead." Dick's voice held too much emotion. Kaldur gave him a look that seemed to say 'What do you think I'm doing now?'

"I'm simply trying to reunite the 'old gang.'" Those informal words sounded odd coming from Kaldur's mouth. "As I said, it is a pity you came alone. I could kill two birds with one stone." Kaldur's face remained impassive apart from a slight flicker in one of the corners of his mouth.

The white slits in Nightwing's masked narrowed dangerously. "You've caused enough damage already." Had Dick not been trained by the Batman for so many years, he knew his voice would have cracked at that moment. It already was hard enough to remain as expressionless as his opponent. His hands floated by his Birdarangs, fingers twitching slightly. He wouldn't miss again.

"I've caused enough damage?" His face hardened and the older man stiffened. "Have you forgotten, _Robin_, that you were the leader? _You _were the one who pulled Artemis from her civilian life and sent her to her death. Let's not forget about your successor, either." Kaldur's words had a visible effect on Nightwing. The younger man's expression seemed to crumple, and his fighting stance deteriorated greatly. He was now slouched slightly in painful shock. Kaldur took the opportunity to strike. His water weapon whistled through the air as the blunt object collided with Dick's side. Although it was a light enough blow not to cause extreme damage, coupled with the verbal assault, this attack sent the boy spiraling into a stack of crates. Nightwing bounced roughly against the crates, fell to the floor, and shakily climbed back to his feet.

"And what about Tula?" Kaldur watched with a twisted sense of satisfaction as Nightwing's face screwed up in pain even more. Tula had been the first casualty under Dick's leadership. The mission had been simple; it was more a "field test" to see how well Dick would have coped as leader. But he failed as leader, and Kaldur left the team for good.

"It was a mission, Kaldur. Aquagirl knew the risks!" Nightwing repeated, more so to convince himself than Kaldur.

The former Aqualad snarled and charged at Dick. The younger boy's grief and conflicted emotions slowed his reaction time, and he was unable to block a fierce kick from Kaldur. Nightwing stumbled backwards, slipping a birdarang into his hands. He threw it, the projectile whistling through the air. It hit Kaldur in the shoulder, but the Atlantean acted as if nothing had happened. He swung his leg and caught Dick by surprise again. Nightwing let out a quick cry as his legs were swept out from under him, and he landed on his right wrist with a crackling noise.

_Not good, _he grimaced, rotating his dominate hand. He rolled over just in time to avoid getting a hole in his stomach from Kaldur's heavy boot. He jumped back to his feet, but not nearly as quick as the previous times. He was too late in refocusing as a sharp hook from Kaldur sent him spinning back towards the vacant crates. Dick's forehead collided with a wooden box forcefully enough to shatter the dry rotted wood. He blinked away stars, scowling as something wet trickled down his face.

Kaldur paced slowly behind the younger boy, waiting patiently for his foe to recover enough to resume fighting. A catlike smile flickered briefly across his face. _So this is the protégée of the great Batman. I remembered him to be a better fighter as Robin. Or perhaps it is I who is improving._

"You wouldn't let me come on that mission. You told me before that you didn't believe I could keep my emotions unclouded. You didn't trust me to do my job. You. Didn't. Trust. Me." Kaldur snarled, taking a step towards Nightwing with each word. He swung at Nightwing, but the boy had recovered enough to block it. Kaldur lunged towards the younger man again, and yet again missed due to Dick's impressive agility.

"I was worried you would be overprotective of her and forsake the team. You _know_ what happened with Conner. I couldn't risk it!" Dick decided to try to go on the offensive now. He jumped back and attempted to throw a birdarang with his non dominant hand. It hit Kaldur's ebony armor with a _clang_ and spun off unseen in the gloomy warehouse.

The Atlantean almost looked hurt. "That was what you thought of my loyalty? You thought I would betray my friends?"

"It isn't far from what I see now." Dick's smile held no warmth as he kicked unsuccessfully at Kaldur's head.

Kaldur stepped back from the fight. "You don't know what it's like!"

Dick's smile grew slightly strained. "To lose someone you 'love' or to be a traitor?"

Rage flared briefly in Kaldur's light olive eyes. The magic that supported his water bearers disappeared and the water splashed to the ground. He returned his twin weapons back to their home on his back and raised his fists for hand to hand combat. Dick smirked and charged at the Atlantean.

After the two exchanged a few harsh blows, Kaldur swept the younger man's feet under him again. Although he was prepared this time, he was not expecting Kaldur to use his own weight to knock the boy down as well. Nightwing hit the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of him. Kaldur dug a sharp knee into the young man's chest, causing the human to gasp loudly. After a few moments of being stuck, Kaldur's knee was replaced by an open palmed hand. Nightwing's eyes widened behind his domino mask. Little blue sparks danced down Kaldur's arm before flowing into Nightwing. The human grounded his teeth together to stop the pained scream that had bubbled in his throat as volts of electricity coursed through his veins. It seemed like an eternity that Dick was trapped in this burning hell when the pressure was suddenly released. The young man's breath came out in hitching gasps, and he couldn't quite feel his extremities, but he was still alive.

Almost as if he were in a dream, Nightwing felt strong fingers wrap around his neck and hoist him into the air. Something told him that his trembling fingers had scratched weakly at Kaldur's iron grip, but he couldn't tell for sure. The darkness that had been bordering his vision after the electrocution was now starting to suffocate him.

Kaldur pulled his hostage closer to him to inspect his face. There was barely any white in the human's domino mask, and Kaldur could tell he was losing him. He loosened his grip slightly, but it did little to revive his foe. With a subtle look of contempt and triumph on his face, Kaldur swung his ragdoll prisoner in the air so that he collided roughly into the decaying crates with a weak cry. Although it resulted in multiple cuts and scrapes for Dick, the human looked more aware. One of the young man's deep blue eyes blinked unfocusedly at Kaldur.

The Atlantean froze and glanced quickly at the most recent debris. Hanging precariously from a large, splintered piece of wood was half of Nightwing's trademark domino mask. Kaldur looked back at Dick and suppressed a shudder. Of the original team members, he had been the last to see the human's vibrant eyes. They still seemed to have the same effect as they did the first time Kaldur saw them. Suddenly Kaldur started to feel a bubble of regret in his heart. Dick had always been the little brother of the team, despite his constant denials. Hurting their former baby bird seemed blasphemous now to Kaldur.

_Pity is for the weak,_ he countered. To convince himself that he truly meant this, the Atlantean's grip tightened around the pale neck.

He suddenly became aware of Dick trying to talk. Crimson bubbled slightly out of the corner of his mouth. His words came out mostly as gibberish and gurgles, but Kaldur got the gist. Nightwing was either trying to threaten him or cause Kaldur to lose some confidence.

The catlike smile returned. "I don't think your 'back up' is coming." Dick's rapidly dulling eye suddenly focused sharply on Kaldur. _Hopefully Wally didn't get too "tripped up" on the tripwires._ Kaldur lifted the younger man closer to his face. "Say hello to Artemis and Wally for me," the Atlantean whispered under his breath, eyes lighting up with an ominous glow. Dick's own eyes widened dramatically.

_No… That can't be possible. _Even though the boy tried to deny the fact that his best friend was dead, he felt a deep numbness seep through his veins. It had to be true, else why wouldn't Wally have appeared to help him? Nightwing's already still form slumped considerably. He already looked dead.

With an overwhelming sense of disgust, although he couldn't tell who is was directed towards, Kaldur threw the boy back at the shattered crates. No emotion flickered across his face when Nightwing was impaled through the side by one of the smaller, rotten planks, and he didn't seem to care when the human slipped of the sharp object with a gasp and a whimper and fell to his hands and knees. Kaldur felt nothing as a trembling Nightwing looked slowly at him, eyes fluttering shut, and collapsed on the cold warehouse floor.

Kaldur stared down at his fallen opponent. The past events seemed so surreal, and he could barely believe that Nightwing was beaten and bloody at _his _feet. He had almost been prepared to die to the former Robin. Although Dick was only a human, Kaldur had a feeling that he would be the most difficult to defeat. And yet the battle itself had seemed relatively easy. Nightwing went down as if he had no fight left in hm.

Kaldur's light eyes inspected every single scrape and wound on the young man at his feet. A small pool of blood had dripped from the small hole in the boy's side and mingled with the dirt and dust on the filthy warehouse floor, giving it a maroon hue. Cuts and gashes littered the human's face and body, and there were multiple rips in his once slick uniform. A few bruises had already started to form, including one particularly nasty one on his forehead and small finger indentations around his neck. The Atlantean continued to absorb every detail he could about the fallen hero. The battle now over, Dick's face was surprisingly calm. If it weren't for all of the injuries on his face, Kaldur could have believed his former teammate was merely resting.

After his evaluation of damage, Kaldur had to decide what to do with the limp form. He crossed his arms and stared at Nightwing. He had fully intended to kill Nightwing, and then leave without any hint of who and done it and why. _But Father would be pleased to possess the leader of my former team. Nightwing is, _Kaldur paused, searching for an adequate description, _the most valuable of the "sidekicks." His disappearance, as well as Artemis' death, would greatly shake up the team. _Kaldur knew he had to decide quickly, for an unwanted visitor could possibly arrive any moment.

Kaldur stepped towards Nightwing and scooped up the thin, limp body. It felt odd holding the broken bird again. He always seemed way too small. He glanced at the bloody pool and the shredded fragment of Nightwing's mask that still clung to the splinters. These items would be an obvious clue in deciphering what happened and who went down.

_You wouldn't have to be "the World's Greatest Detective" to figure it out._

Casting one last baleful glare at the now destroyed warehouse, Kaldur took his prize and left.

* * *

Wally West, former Kid Flash, was late to his own meeting. He sped as fast as he could to the Blüdhaven warehouse, eager to share his news. When he finally got there, obvious traps for a speedster such as tripwires were set up everywhere. Wally skidded to a stop right before a razor thin wire split his belly button. He assumed they were to prevent high speed vehicles from driving through. He didn't stop to investigate; he didn't get the chance to see that they were freshly set.

_Man, and I wanted to hurry. _Instead of speeding to the right warehouse, Wally casually walked and tried to enjoy the slow pace. _Besides, I doubt Dick'll want to see me yet. And I got the best news for him._

It took Wally a bit longer to get in than he expected. Inhumanly large barriers had been shoved in front of all the entrances and exits that Wally was supposed to use. This caused the ginger to slow down for a moment. _Are they there to keep people out…or in?_ After finding some spider infested cellar route, Wally was finally able to reach the main warehouse where he was supposed to meet his best friend. Before entering, he glanced at the watch on his wrist. He was thirty minutes too late.

"You won't believe what I had to…" Wally's loud voice trailed off as he entered the gloomy and abandoned warehouse. He shivered as he walked slowly towards the section that was destroyed the worst. Blood splatters covered the floor as well as bits and pieces of debris.

_It looks like a crime scene. _Wally's bright eyes scanned the room worriedly. _But who's the victim? _The speedster nearly slipped on a puddle of water that was in the center of the battlefield. His stomach prickled nervously, but he didn't know why.

Suddenly his gaze landed on the pool of blood and the tattered remain of Nightwing's mask. Ice sped through his veins, and it hurt to breathe.

"No…no…no…" he whispered hurriedly. He spun around and peered at a nearby shadow. Raising his cupped hands to his mouth, Wally called loudly for Nightwing. He waited in an agonizing silence for what seemed like forever to the speedster. He darted back and forth across the suddenly constricting warehouse, searching every shadow and hole for his friend. It was after the third time that he almost slipped on the water puddle when everything made sense. Wally stopped mid sprint so abruptly that his clothes and nose still vibrated slightly.

_No…_

In a flash he was kneeling beside the crimson pool and the piece of the mask. With shaking fingers, Wally gently dabbed at the puddle. He was fairly certain that all of the red liquid around him came from one source. And based off of the water puddle in the middle of the floor, Wally knew who the culprit and, ultimately, the winner was. He wiped the blood off of his fingers and onto his jeans,

Wally reached out and freed the mask piece from its trap on the splinted. He held it gently at first, and then crushed it tightly in his fist.

_Kaldur._

* * *

**I hope they aren't out of character. The problem with these guys is that they've changed, Kaldur especially, since YJS1. Please, please, please let me know if you guys want me to continue. I'm honestly fine with leaving it this way xD Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Sold My Soul  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Young Justice nor Young Justice Invasion. The belong to their awesome, but respective, owners.  
**Info About This Fic: **It's a sort of AU where Kaldur was evil and the plan in Depths didn't work out too well for Artie.  
**Rating:** T  
**Author's Note: **So I decided to keep this just a oneshot and Nightwing's fate would be forever unknown.  
Just kidding. Based off of you guys' wonderful reviews, if I didn't continue, I'd be in serious danger of my health. Besides, why would there be a 3,000 plus chapter afterwards if I wasn't continuing? Geez, I should just shut up now.  
So...anyone else out there bawl during the Korra series finale...?

* * *

A thought shot through Wally's mind like lightning. As if on autopilot, he rose quickly to his feet and darted out of the warehouse. _Maybe I'm not too late. Maybe I can catch Kaldur before he gets too far. _Wally's heart pounded as his feet thundered across the hard concrete. Doubt whispered through his mind briefly, reminding him of the tripwires set by Kaldur. Any step could be his last. Instead of slowing down, Wally sped up. There was no way he was losing his best friend.

As the raced his way to the dock, another thought caused him to skid to a stop. _How do I know Kaldur took him?_ Wally wrinkled his nose at the idea and at the smell of singed rubber soles. The only clue he had was the puddle of water. That could have been from a simple leak in the warehouse. Wally knew the warehouse was far from a five star hotel; there was bound to be a leak somewhere.

But Wally also knew how much pure _hatred_ Kaldur felt towards the original members of the team. After Tula's death, Kaldur hadn't been the only one to have left the team; Wally and Artemis had partly left for their own protection. Things like death changed people big time, Wally knew this firsthand, but Kaldur didn't just change—he snapped. It wouldn't be surprising if Kaldur was behind this. Dick had told Wally about the team's first confrontation with Kaldur. He had also seemed pretty convinced that they would have a run in with their former Aqualad during the past mission. Just the fact that his friend thought that made Kaldur a key suspect. Besides, who else could have been able to (_successfully_, he added) fight the first sidekick of the _Batman_? Still, Wally couldn't figure out _how_ Kaldur had found out about their meeting place.

His skin started to prickle. Was it possible that a mole was on the team? _Not again…_ The whole issue of the mole on his first year on the team nearly made him want to hang up the yellow spandex. Even though it wasn't intentional, Red Arrow's "assistance" proved to be dangerous. An infiltrator who was working willingly for the Light could be more deadly.

Languid waves lapped against the stained wood of the dock, creating a soothing sound. Wally scanned the horizon, searching for any hint that someone had been there. The endless ocean before him betrayed no secrets to the ginger speedster. Swearing lightly under his breath, Wally spun around and ran back to Mount Justice.

It had been a long time since he had been back at the Cave. Fortunately for him, Wally was able to remember the directions. A wrong detour would put him back by minutes and could mean life or death for Nightwing. Instead of dwelling on his friend's gruesome fate, Wally tried to sort through the past few events. Not even 24 hours before, Dick had been waiting at his front door for Artemis to collect her stuff. Wally knew his best friend had wanted to ask him to help, but Wally's firm stare had prevented the younger man from asking. With the obvious and unasked question still on his lips, Dick left only with Artemis. Agreeing to let Artemis do this was his first mistake. Not coming with the two and helping was his second. Perhaps if Wally agreed to help Dick out one last time, none of this would have happened.

Wally gritted his teeth and tried to focus on the path in front of him. He had to think about something else. The speedster was about halfway to Happy Harbor. The trip from Blüdhaven was long, but not too long. It wasn't nearly as grueling as his trip across the country when he had to save Queen Perdita many years ago. The strong memory caused Wally to nearly trip and his speed dropped back into double digits. He almost was too slow to save her…would he be too late this time? _Why did I think of that?_ Normally running was the best way to completely clear his head and focus, but now his thoughts seemed clustered and murky. Guilt was again gnawing at his stomach. He tried to pass it off unsuccessfully as hunger.

_Why didn't I go with them? I could have stopped all of this. Kaldur wouldn't have been able to take on the both of us. _Another thought struck him. If he had joined his friends and former teammates on the mission, there would have been no need to set up a meeting at the Blüdhaven warehouse. No one would have been hurt or killed. No one would be missing.

Wally growled under his breath, hatred burning through his veins like fire. He didn't know who exactly he hated, but he had a sinking suspicion that he was the main suspect. Wally didn't feel like placing the blame on himself, so instead he poured all of his rage and fury into his flying feet. As his scenery blurred past him, Wally realized that this was the fastest he had ever gone before. The landmarks to Happy Harbor were becoming clearer, and he knew he would be at the Cave within minutes.

The time dragged by agonizingly slow, and it felt as his feet were about to fall off, but slowly the hulking, dark form of Mount Justice loomed before him in the dying twilight. No doubt because of the disastrous mission, the Cave would be on lockdown. Wally wouldn't be able to get in through the usual ways. He'd have to improvise.

_That's the second time in two hours I've had to find another way in, _Wally observed dryly. _Someone clearly doesn't want me in. _He skidded to a stop in front of the hidden main entrance and pursed his lips. Taking a few slow steps to the left, Wally stood right beside an average looking bush.

"Alpha Override Access…" Wally paused and heaved a deep sigh, "Kid Flash." Other than his time with Bart, this was the first time he had acknowledged his alter identity in many years. He had tried for so long to just pretend it didn't exist. Now it was coming back to haunt him.

"Password?" quipped a squeaky synthetic voice. A rueful smile pulled at the corner of Wally's mouth. He had never realized how young Dick had sounded as Robin. The two had set up the alternative entrance as a way to sneak out of the Cave without having Daddy Bats find out, even though Wally was sure he knew full well about it. Wally had refused to let Dick change the voice, finding his squeak to be hilarious, and therefore the smaller security system forever had the youthful voice of a thirteen year old.

"Alfred's cookies," Wally answered, trying very hard not to smile. Dick's trademark chuckle confirmed the password. Wally shuddered; although the boy's demonic cackle normally creeped him out, the tinny imitation of it was just _wrong._ A light pulsed and the main door opened up. Wally could hear surprised gasps as the security alarm went off in Mount Justice. A second later he was standing in the room where the rest of the team, old and new members alike, was waiting, shock plainly written across all of their features.

Conner was the first to react. He took a cautious step forward, unsure of what the speedster's motive in coming there was. With Artemis' death, it was very possible that he could be dangerous. "Wally?" Many of the newer members looked at the visitor with mild interest. He had left before most of them got to know him.

Wally scanned the room one last time, hoping for a miracle. Hoping that he would see a grinning bird lounging in the corner or resting on the couch. But there was no sign of his friend. The others could see the hardened expression that formed on Wally's face, and their confused expressions faded into unease. The speedster nodded at M'gann and gestured towards a quiet corner. Conner frowned and followed his friend and his former flame to the spot.

Tears were still in M'gann's eyes. "Wally…" She reached out for the young man.

Wally politely brushed her off and turned to face Conner. He stared unblinkingly at the clone, his bright peridot eyes drilling into Superboy's baby blue eyes.

"Is Nightwing here?"

* * *

Audiences with his father always were occasions for caution. Although Kaldur was almost as dedicated to the Light's cause as his father was, sometimes his infuriating sense of compassion bled into his fierce words, making his claims sound suspicious. The unwanted emotion was one of the only reminders of his past life as a hero, and it should have died with Tula. But try as he may, Kaldur was unable to completely eradicate the deep effects his past had on him. One such example was when he faltered while fighting Nightwing. Kaldur's hands, hanging loosely by his sides, curled into hard fists, his short nails digging into his callused palms. He should have been stronger.

"You wished to see me, Kaldur'ahm?" His father's words drug him out of his thoughts.

Thankful for the interruption, Kaldur bowed his head with a smile. "The plan worked perfectly. The speedster is surely dead, as is the archer."

His father looked very impressed. "Excellent, my son. You have come a long way."

Kaldur nodded tersely. "Thank you, Father."

"What are you to do with the prisoner? The one from your former team?"

The corners of Kaldur's mouth rose slightly in a cold smile. "I plan on using truth serum on him. There are many secrets that I will be able to exploit from the boy." Kaldur knew the vast amount of secrets a mere six people could hold; the number of interesting facts the current team had would be astounding. And using those dirty secrets against the sidekicks would easily prove to be fatal for them.

"And after you are able to wring the boy of his value?"

"I will dispose of him." Kaldur's voice was firm and unemotional.

His response seemed to shock his father. Black Manta looked slightly put back and then smiled. "You are willing to end the life of your friend so easily?"

"Did I not kill two of my former best friends already?" Kaldur forced his voice to sound offended. "Do you still doubt me, Father?"

His father shook his head once. "No," he murmured softly. "I had just thought this would be different."

Kaldur let out a bark of humorless laughter. "Because he was one of my classmates at the Conservatory? I have no love for the Atlantean."

Black Manta's head dipped into a graceful nod. "Forgive me for my doubt, Kaldur."

"It is well, Father." Kaldur bowed slightly and turned to leave. He was just about through the door when a question from his father stopped him in his tracks.

Black Manta tilted his head, watching his son carefully. "Were you able to apprehend the former sidekick of the Batman? You mentioned to me that you would have had the opportunity to face him tonight. He was your replacement as leader, was he not?"

Kaldur lowered his eyes. "Yes, Nightwing did replace me as leader."

"Were you able to capture or destroy him?" Black Manta almost sounded eager. If his son's former ally was incapacitated, it would serve as a hard blow to the ragtag team of sidekicks and the powerful Justice League.

"He will not be bothering us anymore," the younger man said quietly, quickly escaping the room and his father's curious gaze.

* * *

"_Is Nightwing here?"_

Whatever Conner was expecting to hear, that was clearly wasn't it. He blinked once at Wally. The clone's mouth opened and then closed, no sound escaping from it. He settled for a shake of the head.

"What do you mean, Wally?" M'gann's brow furrowed in confusion, and she looked slightly scared. "He said he was going to tell you about A—Oh, Wally, do you kn-"

"I…I know about Artemis." Wally's voice caught and he forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat. "I know."

Conner looked slightly suspicious. "But how did yo—"

The speedster cut the clone off mid-question. "Look, it isn't important. I need to know where Nightwing is. Do you know where he is?"

"He went to tell you about," M'gann hiccupped and rubbed at her eye, "what happened. Did you not see him? How did you know about" she paused again, "Artemis then?"

"I told you…it isn't important," Wally's pained expression clearly told the two that they shouldn't push it anymore. "But I think he's in trouble. Big trouble." Conner suddenly cleared his throat and looked at someone standing behind Wally. Wally could feel someone standing at his elbow. He turned slowly and felt his gut wrench as he met the widened white slits of a domino mask.

"Where's Di—I mean, Nightwing?" Tim's voice trembled slightly. "Is he okay?"

Wally sighed deeply. He rubbed at his eyes, wishing to be somewhere else. He remembered the amount of blood on the warehouse floor. He couldn't say for sure that Dick was dead, but he refused to give the tiny bird a false hope that his big brother was definitely alive. He settled for a simple yet frightening "no."

Tim sucked in a deep breath. "Do you know where he is?"

The speedster bit the corner of his lip. "Not quite." The dejected look on Robin's face was ripping him apart inside.

"We have an audience," Conner mumbled, sparing Wally from answering anymore painful questions. Wally looked around him, slightly surprised. The entire team was circled at a relatively respectful distance around the four. They watched Wally like frightened animals; slowly they were all reaching the same conclusion: if Wally was here, where was Nightwing?

"Maybe we should finish this somewhere more private. It may upset the team more," Conner continued in low tones under his breath.

M'gann looked worried and studied Wally's face. "Would it upset the team?"

"Yeah."

The original three sidekicks made their way through the crowded room, feeling slightly suffocated under all of the desperate stares. Wally glanced behind him and noticed Tim still trailing after him. He stopped, and the other two looked to see what had slowed the speedster down.

M'gann's face softened. "Maybe you should wait outside, Robin."

The slits in the boy's domino mask narrowed dangerously. "I'm finding out what happened to Di—Nightwing," he nearly snarled. Something changed in the boy, and his shoulders stooped. "I need to," the boy pleaded desperately.

The two metahumans exchanged worried glances. Conner opened his mouth to argue.

Batgirl shouldered herself into the conversation. "We _both_ deserve to know, Wally." Her eyes were practically shinning with fear and worry, and she placed a comforting hand on Tim's shoulder.

Wally nodded, overriding the protests of Superboy and Miss Martian. Because of some very convincing claims Garfield laid down, he too was permitted to join the meeting. The six left without another world, leaving the remaining sidekicks to dwell on what horrible fate had met their leader.

* * *

"What happened?" Conner demanded.

Wally sank into one of the green, plush chairs with a sigh. He looked around the room briefly and winced. The last time he had been in this room, he had been trying to patch up his disordered emotions from the disastrous training exercise five years ago. It was clear the other two original members were also feeling very uncomfortable.

"You might want to take a seat."

M'gann was sitting on the edge of her seat and completely rigid. Gar was sitting on the ground, leaning against his adoptive sister's chair. Batgirl and Robin were similarly perched on the couch; Batgirl's entire arm now wrapped around Tim's shoulder. Conner refused to sit and repeated his question.

Wally ran a hand through his ginger hair and retold his story. He made sure not to leave anything out. As he finished, he glanced around at all of the different expressions. M'gann looked absolutely horrified, new tears sparkling in her eyes. A storm of dangerous rage was boiling across Conner's face. Batgirl just looked sad. Tim was trembling slightly, his face incredibly pale. Garfield's green eyes were wide, shock written plainly across his features.

Conner couldn't hold back his anger anymore. Artemis dead, Nightwing missing, their former friend to blame. With a furious scream, he spun around to the nearest wall and punched a hole through the concrete and dented the steel base. "Kaldur," he muttered under his breath, panting slightly. "I knew Kaldur was a traitor! So help me when I find him…"

M'gann sniffed. "Are you sure it was Kaldur?" Wally nodded. "Do you think he found you guys by accident?"

Wally shook his head and raised a piece of the tripwire he had cut off. Nearly everyone gasped; the thin, but deadly, wire glinted as it spun slowly in the air. "It wasn't an accident," he said simply.

"Did..." Tim faltered and tried again. "Did you look…just in case he escaped and was injured nearby…?" _Or dead, _but the replacement Robin refused to voice that possibility.

"I looked everywhere," Wally confirmed. "No Nightwing, no body. No hints at where he could have gone." Wally's expression softened as he looked at Robin's deep frown. Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to allow the others to join Miss Martian, Superboy, and he.

"What are we going to do?" Batgirl spoke up for the first time.

"We _have_ to do something," M'gann added. Nightwing was the third casualty Kaldur had taken in one night. She had a sister to avenge, a boyfriend to rescue, and a little brother to save. She wasn't feeling sad; now anger was coursing through her body, causing it to shake slightly. _How _could Kaldur have caused so much trouble? He once was their friend. When they found him, the traitor would definitely pay for his crimes.

"Where do we start?" Garfield placed a green hand on M'gann's knee, concerned as he felt his foster sister tremble. _We're going to get them back, sis. Dick and La'gaan._

Wally thought over that question. The scene of the crime was always the best place to start. He wasn't much of a detective, so maybe two of the Bat's prodigies would be able to help. The powers of the other three would certainly also be useful. Wally stood up, eyes narrowed. "We go back to the warehouse. Then we find Kaldur."

* * *

**Bum...bum...BUM! Eh, whatever. That wasn't that much of a cliffhanger. Thank you so incredibly much for all of the awesome reviews you guys have given me. I'm giggling like an idiot over here just thinking about it. At least six of you super reviewers directly complemented my writing style. That's like the biggest, awesomest complement ever! This chapter's dedicated to you guys especially.  
Please review, guys. I know you don't have to try to convince me to continue this...since I am, but reviews seriously get me writing. How do you think I got this out so early? Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, or alerting. I really appreciate it! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Sold My Soul  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Young Justice nor Young Justice Invasion. The shows belong to their awesome, but respective, owners.  
**Info About This Fic: **It's a sort of AU where Kaldur was evil and the plan in Depths didn't work out too well for Artie.  
**Rating:** T  
**Author's Note: **Gosh, I love you guys who are reviewing. I especially loved the reviews dealing with "Why Wally no care for Artymus no more" (that wasn't an actual review, but I wish I had someone say that; it would seriously make my day). I'm super impressed you guys pay that much attention to detail. You force me to be more clever with my wording. As you guys can now see, Wally knows so much more than he's letting us know. To be in the mind of Wallace West...  
Let me just caution you, you faithful readers. Everything is not as it seems.  
Oh, and Jamie can mentally communicate with the Blue Scarab in this fic. It just makes things easier to work with. And I'm convinced Babs and Wally are as BFFs as Dick and Donna are. Y'know, if the glorious Donna Troy was in Young Justice. But she's not. And the world is less awesome for it. End bitter, off topic rant. xD  
Finally, zee dialogue! I hate zee dialogue! It's so out of character D: But you guys can't blame me when these precious new members of the team are so underdeveloped.

* * *

The ride on the Bioship was so quiet it was almost suffocating. Things had evidently changed over the years, and this certainly proved it to Wally. M'gann was seated towards the back of the ship at the controls of the craft, while Conner was as far from her as he could to the front. Only when directly addressed would the Kryptonian turn to even glance in the Martian's direction. Dick hadn't been joking when he mentioned the end of the team's once most powerful relationship. Batgirl and Robin were seated on the opposite sides of the ship, each staring gloomily out their window. Tim's face was especially pitiful. Wally grimaced and glanced at his companion by his side. Gar looked equally uncomfortable as he too was stranded in the middle of the Bioship. Sitting by one of the four other passengers would feel too much like taking sides. Although Beast Boy was content to lounge right in the middle of the Bioship, Wally decided it would be best for them if he "rested his legs." It wasn't like it really mattered; he could stand for hours and not be sore, but he used it as his excuse to move to the recently formed seat next to Batgirl. The others were so lost in their own thoughts, they didn't question the obviously fake explanation. As he slowly made his way to the female vigilante, he began his observation of the girl.

_She seems to be the most rational person here at the moment. _He sunk down into the chair with a sigh. Batgirl broke her stare off with her reflection and gave the speedster a weak smile. Wally smiled back and stretched out his "cramped" legs. He used this exercise as a diversion to study the girl beside him more closely. She didn't look too frightened, but Wally knew from past experiences with Dick that that was the bat training doing its job. He could tell she was worried about their mutual friend based on the occasional tug of her lip and wringing of her hands. Wally's bright eyes quickly darted to the side in a millisecond and noticed that Tim nearly wasn't as composed as his fellow Bat. Signs such as widened eyes, quick, darting looks, and deep frowns easily gave away Tim's nervousness. Wally looked back to Batgirl and noticed that he hadn't been quite as subtle as he hoped in his evaluations.

"You nervous for him, too?" Batgirl asked quietly, trying not to speak too loudly, although everyone would have been able to hear it anyway on the deathly silent ship.

Wally shrugged. "Hey, Dick can handle himself." Wally was one of the few people trusted enough by the Batman (trusted being the operative word) to know Batgirl and Robin's secret identities as well, despite being out of the superhero business. After first meeting Barbara, one of the speedster's favorite things to do was flirt constantly, much to the chagrin of Dick. Although Babs knew he wasn't serious, they both enjoyed how flustered their mutual friend got. Even without the yellow spandex, Wally still hung out with the rest of the Batclan. He considered them another family for him, despite Batman's subtle yet constant reminders that he was not in fact a bat or a bird, but related to Barry Allen. However, the Bat did not halt the speedster's frequent drop-ins, and Barbara soon became a good friend, while Tim became like a nervous little cousin to Wally.

Batgirl shrugged as well. "Yeah, maybe. I hope so." A watery smile flickered across her lips. It was clearly forced. "If he can't, at least I'd get his spot in the Batcave."

Wally's laugh was halfway forced as well. "Doubt it. He probably set it to blow if anyone tried to move his short pants."

"I'm just glad he eventually added pants to that Robin costume. Did you actually ever see him in his original costume?"

Wally shook his head, a genuine smile on face now. "Naw. Thankfully I've just seen it on the manikin. Which is more than enough."

"Lucky. We saw it every day in the Gotham Post. His little traffic light ensemble was one of my reasons to _not_ be a hero. Now that I'm thinking about it, all of my reasons to not pick up the spandex had to do with Batman's first partner."

The conversation had helped lighten the mood on the Bioship, but Wally could still tell that their little rescue team was stressed and nervous—including himself. Tim still looked like the poster child for a kid who had lost his puppy, but even Conner had a small smile on his lips. _Probably because he heard everything. The others probably just heard the laughter and think we're losing it._

Miss Martian suddenly cleared her throat. Everyone, including the broody clone, looked at her expectantly. "We are approaching the warehouse. It's time to get into uniform. Stealth mode activated." Although she tried to hide it, M'gann's pointed look at Wally's civilian clothes was obvious. As everyone "suited" up in their stealthy attire, Wally didn't budge a muscle. Soon the rest of the rescue group was watching him, dressed up in black as if they were attending a funeral.

Wally sighed loudly. "It's not like I have a spare costume in my ring or something." His joke was lost on the others. Clearly they didn't know how Uncle Barry got around. "Besides, I hung up the yellow spandex a long time ago. This isn't me rejoining the team—this is me rescuing a friend. I'm not 'suiting up.'" Wally crossed his arms and firmly ended the conversation.

No one protested, but it was clear they were all thinking about another thing. When the Bioship touched the ground beside the Blüdhaven warehouse, the five members of the team glanced around at each other uncertainly. One of Wally's ginger eyebrows rose.

"Are you guys ready?"

M'gann hesitated before answering. "Sorry. We're used to Nightwing giving us our mission perimeters, and he's not here. It doesn't feel right." Right about then was when the rest of the team was starting to truly grasp the impending and tragic situation.

In that moment, Wally could see the true intent of Kaldur's action and the horrible damage it caused. Without their leader, the team was as lost as blind sheep. While the death of a former teammate and the capture of a current member had certainly shaken them up, the terror hadn't truly set in until it was possible that Kaldur was dead set in destroying the original, founding team. The firm, standing pillars of the younger Justice League. Already he had almost succeeded in taking out half of the original six (for Wally considered the tripwires to be an attempted murder now). If they didn't work fast, another would be confirmed on Kaldur's list of trophies. Already one was too many.

_Artemis… I shouldn't have done this. It's already gone too far._

The sudden thought about the archer surprised the speedster and caused his gut to wrench painfully. _Come on… Get it together, West. _Even before hearing the awful news, he had prepared himself for a worst case scenario. Although he was trying to keep her from his mind, Artemis always had a way of coming back stronger. Wally felt a watery smirk rising on his lips. _That's not far from the truth, is it?_ Wally tore himself from his thoughts and threw himself headfirst back into the mission. _Nightwing is the priority now, not Artemis. That's out of my hands now. _The ginger speedster looked up and was slightly unnerved to see everyone staring at him.

_Oh, yeah. No leader equals no organization. _Wally looked over at Conner and M'gann. _Even _they_ look confused. I don't get it... We didn't have a leader for our first few missions, and everything turned out fine. Well, fine-ish anyway. _

They were still watching him intently. It took Wally a mere nanosecond to understand why: _they want me to lead._ "I'm not telling you guys what to do," he informed them. "Meg, you and Conner both have more experience than I with this team." _This new team… It's not our old one._

"But you know the most on what happened." Conner argued. _Plus neither of us want to do it, _he added in his mind. The others nodded to show their support.

Wally gritted his teeth and tried to come up with an argument, but it was futile. In their eyes, he was the next obvious choice as leader the moment Nightwing disappeared, costume or no costume. Wally released a gusty sigh. "All right," he relented. "I'll fill in for Nightwing." Even Tim looked slightly less dejected. "But only for this mission." Wally turned around to where a door on the Bioship had opened. "I'm not replaced him as leader," he added, his back facing his new team. "And I'm not coming back to the team."

_There's a curse on whoever takes leadership of this team, and I don't need the trouble._

* * *

"How has the questioning of the prisoner gone, my son?"

Kaldur looked up briefly from his buttering, and then glanced back down at his slice of Atlantean style bread. "It had not yet provided the answers I want, but today will be a better day, I believe. It takes at least twenty-four hours for the truth serum to completely penetrate the Atlantean's nervous system."

The father and son pair was sitting at a long table eating breakfast and sharing perhaps their only time together during that day. Rarely did Kaldur ever see his father unless a private audience was requested. Black Manta seemed impressed by his son's patient answer and control of the situation. Kaldur was proud of himself; it felt _good_ to please his father.

"Very good." Black Manta paused as a thought entered his mind. "Three of your past comrades have been eliminated. However, I know they were all relatively human. How do you expect to cope with the Martian and the Superman clone? They will both prove to be difficult adversaries due to their abilities."

A smile flickered across Kaldur's mouth as he set down his buttering knife. "It is likely that the Kryptonian and the Martian will be traveling together, due to the fact that they were an 'item' while I was on the team. I will lead them both back to the warehouse. If they have not yet found it, I have a way to, ah," Kaldur paused, searching for the right word, "attract their attention. As you may know, Martians are severely weakened by fire. An explosion would do nicely to rid us of her as well as destroy the evidence. To correctly time the explosion, I've put a Krypton-sensitive sensor that will ignite the detonation device after they arrive. The sensor was a gracious gift from one of our partners in the Light. They'll have no way of escaping in time. If the Kryptonian is not destroyed, I'm sure our allies would be delighted to supply us with enough Kryptonite to severely cripple the clone."

"You've certainly thought about this quite a bit, haven't you, Kaldur'ahm?"

Kaldur nodded. "Yes, Father. I have." Suddenly not feeling hungry anymore for the slightly salty bread, Kaldur set the half eaten slice down and excused himself from the table.

_You've certainly thought about this quite a bit, haven't you, Kaldur'ahm?_

Kaldur was somewhat relieved he didn't tell his father about the fifteen minute delay he had added on the bomb. He himself was now starting to question his own loyalty.

* * *

Jamie was no detective, but something didn't seem right about their newest visitor. For starters, Wally did not look nearly as upset as a man should have when his soul mate of five plus years was suddenly ripped away permanently from his life by his best friend and former friend (Jamie could only assume). Jamie didn't even _know_ Artemis that well, and he felt more broken up about her than Wally. He watched the small group of heroes leave, wondering why the speedster wasn't being more irrational.

_Perhaps the speedster is controlling his emotions. _A high, annoying trill filled the boy's ears and thoughts._ He does not wish to look as weak as you._

Jamie gritted his teeth. _No, something wasn't right._

_He may be an imposter then._

The user of the Scarab shook his head, forgetting that he technically wasn't talking to anyone. _I doubt it. Conner, M'gann, and the others seemed to recognize and trust him. Maybe he was just in shock. Or maybe he just didn't know. _Jamie frowned. _But he had to have known, else why would he have come back here?_

_He is an imposter_ the Blue Scarab repeated, his beeping becoming more violent. _You do not know him. _

_He isn't an imposter,_ Jamie argued back. _The others knew him. There has to be some sort of explanation as to why he was so calm. _

_There is no other explanation. We must destroy him to ensure the safety of this bond._ The Blue Scarab beeped once more before the mechanism darted across his arm, building up a blue, hard armor over his wrist. A petite blaster formed on the top of the plates. Jamie quickly threw his normal hand over the small weapon.

"_No!" _He froze. Jamie hadn't intended to shout out loud. He glanced around him. Everyone was so wrapped up in their fear and thoughts that they hadn't heard him. He was just about to heave a sigh of relief when he heard the slight twinkle of metal.

"What?"

Ignoring the nervous lurch in his gut, Jamie turned around to face Wondergirl. He repeated her question. "What?"

The frown that was stretched across Cassie's face deepened. "I heard you shout 'no.' Are you alright, Jamie?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine. I'm fine." Jamie tried to brush off his outburst as if it never happened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

_Inform the girl about the imposter. She may be more intelligent than you._

Jamie spared a quick second to glare at the hidden AI on his back. This only elicited another confused, slightly worried look from Wondergirl. _Wally is _not_ an imposter!_

_So you do not dispute the fact that the girl may be superior to you in intelligence?_

Somehow forgetting that he had an audience, Jamie groaned out loud and ran a hand through his dark, thick hair. "Sometimes you are so annoying," he growled under his breath.

Cassie looked very offended at this comment. She had merely tried to help the boy, and he was _insulting _her. Wondergirl, the daughter of Mighty Zeus. Cassie crossed her arms and placed an angry look on her face. "Well, I don't know what I've done to you to deserve that."

Jamie's stomach dropped again. _Look what you've done. You've got me in trouble again. _"I'm sorry, Cassie. I, uh, I wasn't talking to you."

The blond blinked. "Wait…then who _were_ you talking to?"

Jamie bit his lip and glanced to the side. No one was watching them. He grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her further to the side. Why he couldn't think of a better lie was beyond him. Why he felt the secret of the Blue Beetle was so shocking that he couldn't tell anyone was also beyond him. In low tones, he quickly informed the girl of the source of his powers and its annoying tendency to input its biased beliefs.

Cassie looked slightly impressed, but not overly surprised. "Wow, that's cool," she breathed. She glanced over at the exposed Scarab that Jamie had revealed during his explanation. "So you were talking to, uh, it and not yelling at me?"

_Perhaps you may be more intelligent._

_Shut up!_ Jamie quickly covered up the Scarab as if concealing it again would force the Artificial Intelligence into silence. "Yeah, the Scarab had some ideas that were completely, uh, _loco._ It thinks that Wally is an imposter because he isn't freaking out about Artemis." Jamie forced a laugh.

Instead of laughing with the boy, Cassie looked thoughtful. She stared at Jamie's back as if she was conversing with his blue companion instead of the boy. "You know, I think your Scarab might be on the right track. Wally _did_ seem a little bit weird today. I mean, I've only met him a few times, but he totally should have been freaking out."

_I remove my claim on the girl's lack of intelligence. She is not a complete imbecile._

It was Jamie's turn to blink and look confused. "You honestly think Wally isn't Wally?"

Cassie shook her head and glanced to the side, checking for any eavesdropper. She lowered her voice. "No, Wally is Wally. He just knows something. Something is going on. Something someone is not telling us."

Jamie shivered slightly. "What do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure," Wondergirl's thoughtful expression returned, and she raised a hand to her chin. "But I bet we can find out." Cassie's eyes lit up with a dangerous gleam. "Come on!" She grabbed Jamie's arm and pulled him towards the opposite door from where Wally and the others had disappeared through. Protesting only slightly, Jamie allowed himself to be towed through Mount Justice on their quest to find answers. Suddenly an idea hit the boy. He dug his feet into the ground and despite her super strength, the action caused Cassie to pause in her crusade. She stopped and looked back at Jamie.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I had an idea." Cassie watched the boy carefully, eager to learn what had passed through his mind. "What if the reason Wally wasn't upset was because something hadn't happened to Artemis? It was all a trick."

Cassie frowned. "I don't know, Jamie. We saw them carry her in." A thought suddenly hit the girl like a hurricane, causing her face to glow. "No, we saw them carry something under a blanket in here. They wouldn't let us see her because it was too upsetting."

Jamie nodded. "What if she wasn't dead?"

Cassie now started to look suspicious. "But M'gann and Conner must be really good actors then. They looked as if Artemis _had_ died. And what about Nightwing? Why would they have sent him off to tell Wally if Wally already knew? It makes no sense that they would put Nightwing in danger." As Cassie started to work the problem out, she became more and more distressed.

Jamie angrily scuffed the sole of his shoe against the hard floor, causing a dark mark to appear on the ground. "_Ay Dios Mio!_ This makes no sense."

"I never believed Batgirl when she said this detective stuff was tough. It's totally hard!" Cassie sighed, her shoulders dropping. "I guess Artemis really is dead, and Nightwing and La'gaan really are missing."

"Yeah," Jamie turned away and noticed his surroundings for the first time. Even though the hallway was dark, he recognized it as a mere corridor down from the hospital wing. If Artemis—_or her body_, Jamie added—really entered Mount Justice, it probably would be there. He wasn't sure how Cassie would react to the suggestion. He was vaguely certain that they would be breaking an implied rule somewhere, and if Artemis was there, the sight of her body might very well cause them mental anguish. But now Jamie was curious, and he _had_ to know what happened. "I think I have a way to find out," he murmured. He lifted up his arm and the blue armored plates traveled down it, building up a scanner. _Scan for life signals, _Jamie paused, _or carbon traces._

"Should we look for her?" He asked Cassie in a low, cautious voice.

Wondergirl tried to give a nonchalant shrug, but she still looked nervous. "Why not?"

Jamie swept the scanner across the empty corridor, his Scarab giving him the data for once without a scathing remark. The Blue Beetle lowered his arm, turning back to Wondergirl. "Four different people passed by here in the past hour. Three would have been Conner and M'gann with Artemis, if it was her."

"And the fourth?"

_Scan for heat traces. _Jamie frowned. "The fourth is hard to trace. But whoever it was, they didn't come in with the other three." He ran the recently obtained information back through his mind, scrambling to figure out the puzzle. "Although it's faint, the heat signature here says that whoever was the fourth, uh, visitor, he or she left about twenty minutes ago." Jamie turned and stared down the long, dark hallway. "They left right when Wally got here, but they weren't with anything else alive. If they were, the heat signature would be much greater." Jamie stared down at the scanner on his arm. Suddenly the slight, pulsing trail of heat disappeared. With a low curse under his breath, he tapped the screen multiple times. It was no use; the trail that could have led them to the fourth visitor was gone.

"That lead is gone," he muttered, looking back at Cassie. "What next?"

"We should try to find Artemis," the girl offered. "She may have been the fourth visitor."

Jamie shook his head and glanced unconsciously down at his blank scanner. "No. Whoever it was, it was someone different. The carbon signature was different from the other three." After a moment's hesitation, Jamie continued. "The very faint heat trail also said that only three people—Conner, M'gann, and the stranger—left. Someone is still down this hallway." It was implied that Artemis would have been the remaining person to not have moved. Dead bodies don't walk down hallways or give off heat.

With apprehension bubbling in their insides, the two young heroes cautiously followed the dark hallway and stopped at the front of the hospital bay door. Naturally it was locked, but that provided little trouble for Cassie, who simply ripped the door off of its steel hinges. She refused to look at the examination bench in the middle of the room, glancing everywhere but at the table. A large white cloth was covering something that looked suspiciously Artemis-like.

Jamie took a deep breath and reached for the sheet. Cassie squeezed her eyes shut and then allowed one to peep open as her partner pulled the cover off of the bulge. A gasp escaped her lips as she looked at the scene. Where Artemis' body should have been, various pillows supplied the shape of the archer.

Artemis was gone.

* * *

**Jamie and Cassie have a purpose in this story. It's not like I'm pushing them together because I secretly ship WonderBeetle deep down inside. Nope. Nuh-Uh.  
A vote is needed! Another vote is to be called. You guys clearly won the last one, since I continued, but will you win this one? Do you guys want to see some explosions or some Kaldur angst in the next chapter?  
Comments and criticism are greatly appreciated. You guys can just use that nifty new little review box right below this end note. It'd take a brief five seconds to type the words "dis is lyk guud" in, and it would make my day. Seriously. Any kind words would. So please, type away :D Thanks for all of the support so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **Sold My Soul  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Young Justice nor Young Justice Invasion. They belong to their awesome, but respective, owners.  
**Info About This Fic: **It's a sort of AU where Kaldur was evil and the plan in Depths didn't work out too well for Artie.  
**Rating:** T - L'il bit of blood in this one, but not too bad.  
**Author's Note: **You guys seriously are the sweetest readers ever! Those of you who left the reviews with the intentionally bad grammar especially are my favorite. Not only did you actually read this little ole Author's Note and saw that I love bad-text-speech, but you also came up with creative and wonderful messages :'D Because you guys were so sweet, I put in explosions AND Kaldur angst AND Nightwing.

**CONTEST**: Since FF keeps telling me about it, I'm finally deciding to add an art cover to my story. Only, I have the artistic capabilities of a blind duck. If any of you want to design a cover, send me a PM of it or give me a link to in a review or something else. Anyway you guys can get me your images, I'd love to see them. I doubt many of you will want to actually waste your time on little ole me, but I'd be honored if any of you even attempt it. The person who's cover I would chose would get full credit in the description and at the beginning of eath chapter. The winner would also get either one YJ Youtube video of their choice (If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm x0xMacraucheniax0x on Youtube; I bet you guys don't know who that even is xD), one YJ oneshot of their choice, OR I have to answer one question about anything in _Sold My Soul_. Guys, you can ask who dies in the end and I'd _have_ to tell you. I hope to see the possible entries :D

* * *

For some odd reason, the warehouse seemed much darker than it had a mere hour ago. _Naturally, it's because of the later hour_, the speedster reasoned, falling back on his faithful sense of logic in times of trouble. _But somehow it seems darker than that._ The small ragtag team of desperate rescuers was standing in front of the ominous building, daring their courage to see who would be the brave one to enter first. For what seemed like the millionth time, Wally surveyed his group, trying hard to convince himself that this was the right choice. Instead of the fear and worry that had been plastered on their faces while back on the Bioship, everyone now wore a carefully constructed yet frail mask of determination. It killed Wally to realize that a single thing could tear down their forced bravado in an instant.

"I'll go in first. I know the way." Wally's sentences were short and choppy. He dreaded going inside, although he knew just what exactly they would find. But there was always some chance that his eyes had deceived him the first time. Maybe Dick really was in the warehouse somewhere. Unlikely, but not impossible. He didn't know if it would be a miracle or a tragedy to see the bloody, beaten bird.

Conner could sense that all was not well with the speedster. Wally's heart, although it was usually accelerated in comparison to a normal human, had a very high risk of simply bursting from the rapid beats. _Wally is just as frightened as us, _the clone realized with a start. He had never known Kaldur or Nightwing to have been afraid during their time as leader of the team, but it may have been that they just hid their anxiety better. "I'll go in first," he informed the speedster. "If there is a trap, it won't hurt me." Superboy scanned the vacant building with his multiple visions. He saw no heat forms and heard no other heartbeats in the nearby vicinity. "There's no one there, though. It should be empty."

Wally nodded and stepped aside without a word to let the bulkier boy pass by him. Conner entered the warehouse, his expression unreadable, and stopped in the doorway. The boy was still for a moment, and then with a grimace, he pulled a hand to his temple. He lowered it with a frown and glared at the empty darkness.

Without realizing it, M'gann had taken a step towards the clone, a single hand reaching towards the boy. "Conner?" Then catching her almost traitorous act, she backed up with her arms crossed and eyes lowered. "What's wrong?"

Conner shook his head to clear any last remnants of the piercing but short-lived headache. "I—Nothing. It was nothing. I thought I heard something." Ignoring the concerned looks the others were giving him, he made his way roughly into the empty warehouse. He wasn't sure what hit him, but it felt strangely familiar and _exhausting. _

The others followed silently behind, still wary of a trap despite Conner's and M'gann's assurance that the warehouse was empty. Wally waited behind at the end and grabbed Tim's shoulder just before he entered. For a split second, the younger boy's reflexes and nerves kicked in as he nearly struck Wally, but he recognized his "assailant" and immediately relaxed. "Sorry," Robin murmured. "Batman and Di—Nightwing always taught me to be on my guard in situations like this."

Wally pursed his lips. "This is definitely one of those situations." He paused, and tried to meet the little bird's eyes. All he was able to see was the two blank slits of the boy's domino mask. Wally cursed under his breath. _I even hated those masks when Dick first started wearing them. _They were perhaps the Robins' greatest tool in concealing their true emotions. Even though Tim was more expressive than his predecessor, Wally was still having a difficult time figuring out what the boy was feeling. He decided to just ask the bird directly.

"Are you okay, Tim?" He asked the boy in a low voice so the others would have a hard time hearing.

The younger boy's lips were colorless as they clamped together tightly. "Yeah, I'm fine," the boy said after a moment's pause. "This isn't the first Robin we've lost," the boy's voice sounded slightly detached. He had only heard stories about his predecessor, Dick's successor; he had never met the second Robin in real life. Wally's gut wrenched slightly. _Jason was not like Dick. _

"You don't know for sure that Nightwing's gone," Wally reminded the boy softly.

Tim suddenly smiled, the worry lines on his face instantly disappearing. It was an odd look on the normally serious boy. "I said _lost, _not gone. We just have to find him." Tim pulled his arm not roughly from the speedster's grasp and made his way to the warehouse entrance. Wally could tell the boy was aching to find clues that would lead them to rescuing Nightwing. The boy vanished in the dark warehouse with a flurry of his cape and a flash of red.

Wally was the only one left outside of the warehouse. He sighed loudly and plunged his hands deeply into the pockets of his sweatshirt. Glancing up at the dark sky, Wally noted with a frown that there was neither the moon nor the stars to light up the cold, black night.

* * *

Kaldur was unable to prolong it any longer. With an enormous amount of willpower, the former hero forced himself to finally visit his prisoner. The lonely walk to his prisoner's makeshift cell seemed to last an eternity. While he tried to block them, thoughts about his former team and his current prisoners burned through his mind.

Seeing to the Atlantean had been easy. Kaldur merely injected the thrashing boy with the truth serum and left. He hadn't even said to a word to his former classmate. Kaldur glanced at a nearby clock on the wall.

_The Lagoon Boy will already be completely delirious with the effects of the serum. This is the prime time for extracting the boy's secrets. _Kaldur knew he was trying to make excuses that would keep him from visiting his other prisoner. _La'gaan can wait. I…I must check on the other. To ensure he will not escape. _This was also another lie.

Although Lagoon Boy had thrown vile insult after insult at him and nearly had caused two of his men to be decapitated, Kaldur would rather be with him than with the other prisoner. There was a good chance that Nightwing would still be unconscious, but even looking at him would be harder than fighting a hundred raging Lagoon Boys. When taking his former friend captive, Kaldur could not have imagined the guilt and conflicting emotions it would have caused him.

_I should have killed him when I had the chance. _Kaldur clenched his fists tightly. _I would not be feeling these traitorous feelings if I were as strong as my father. My father would have destroyed Nightwing without hesitation. _

Kaldur was shocked to see himself standing in front of the room that held his former friend. For reasons unknown to him, Kaldur had placed an intricate lock on the door—but only to bar people from entering the room. If someone had wanted to escape the room from the inside, they merely had to pull the door handle. The purpose of the door was to keep people out instead of in; a very odd design for a prisoner's cell.

_It does not matter. It is unlikely that Nightwing would be able to escape anyway, given the current condition he's in. _Kaldur produced a single, iron skeleton key and turned the key in the lock, wincing at the loud clanking sound of the tumblers grinding. For obvious reasons, the Atlantean had forced himself to become independent of anything that required an electronic lock or a motion sensor. Kaldur pushed open the door, revealing the prodigy of Batman's cell.

It was not what Kaldur would call the conventional prisoner's room. Instead of bars and a stone cold floor, it had the appearance of a relatively bland hospital room. There was no color in the room apart from the person lying peacefully on the bed. Nightwing had been unconscious since their latest encounter; Kaldur wasn't sure if he was ever going to wake up. _Perhaps I should have been merciful and ended his sufferings there…_ The older man quickly countered this admittance with the fact that his father wouldn't have shown mercy, and it was for the weak.

Kaldur took a step forward and stood next to the unconscious bird. Suddenly he felt himself being transported violently into the past, back when he was a part of that infuriating team of sidekicks. Instead of looking down at the enemy, Kaldur now saw one of his former best friends. Seeing the team's baby brother made Kaldur feel more traitorous and rotten than any of Lagoon Boy's angry screams or insults had. Kaldur forced himself from his past memories with a shudder.

_That was in the past. Things are different now. We are no longer allies._

Still, the older man was unable to look away from the hero he once idolized, despite the age gap. After defeating Nightwing, Kaldur had deposited the boy's almost dead body in the nearest, empty room, dressed the boy's wounds only to keep him alive, and left. Now Kaldur had returned to inspect his haste handiwork.

Nightwing was stripped to the waist, a long bandage wrapped around his middle where the large puncture wound had been. Already blood had seeped through it, staining the pristine, white cloth with crimson. It needed to be changed, but Kaldur could not muster up enough concern to do anything about it. He was furious at himself for the care he had already given his hated enemy. If he gave any more assistance to the fallen hero, Kaldur would have labeled himself a traitor. _I should have just left his life to fate. _Again, Kaldur's once buried emotions had gotten the better of him. He _knew_ Nightwing's wound would have been fatal without treatment, and yet Kaldur had still insisted upon keeping his _greatest enemy_ alive. Nightwing's bare chest rose slowly and fitfully, but it was clear the boy was finally starting to breathe better than he had when Kaldur first saw him. The older boy rubbed at his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted. He continued in his silent observation of the injured boy.

Nightwing's right wrist had been set in a wobbly splint. Again, Kaldur had no idea what he was doing. If he was going to kill Dick eventually, as he was continually telling himself he would, why did it matter if the boy had a broken wrist? Various untreated cuts and scratches also littered the boy's body. After patching up Nightwing's puncture wound and his wrist, Kaldur finally had the self-control to stop. However, it didn't stop him from performing once last little trick.

From where it hit the decrepit crates multiple times, Dick's face would have looked horrendous. However, a thick, white cloth covered most of the boy's face and wrapped the top of his head completely, starting at his forehead. It was more so for concealing the boy's identity than serving as a bandage; the cover was more effective than a mask in the respect that it not only hid one eye, but also kept the color of the boy's hair a mystery. Someone who only had a vague idea of what Nightwing looked like would have no idea on the identity of the bruised person in the small bed.

Kaldur noticed with a twist in his gut that his father was such a person.

* * *

As expected, the warehouse was empty. It held dust mites and mold galore, but the dank building was night-themed vigilante-free. When Wally finally entered the dark warehouse, his team was already scattered, searching for any possible type of clue. The change that had come over Tim in particular was a bit unnerving. If he was nervous for his older brother, it didn't show. The trembling, uncertain boy on the Bioship thirty minutes ago was now darting from spot to spot, the white slits in his domino mask constantly roaming. The current expression on the Robin's face was a mix of determination tinged slightly with excitement; he looked more like a boy cracking open a challenging Sudoku puzzle than a costumed crime fighter searching for clues on the whereabouts of his older brother. Batgirl was also hunched over some spot on the warehouse floor, her bright eyes hungrily absorbing every fissure in the stone. Leaving the detective work to the professionals, Wally made his way to where the other three were gathered.

The three metahumans were staring blankly at the most gruesome spot in the warehouse. If times were different, Wally could have purposely startled them and made even Superboy jump. But instead Wally walked over, announcing his arrival with a gusty sigh. Garfield turned his head immediately, followed eventually by his foster sister; Conner continued to glare at the bloody pool as if a laser would suddenly shoot from his eyes.

"It's his blood," Wally said in a low voice. "I don't know what Kaldur's would look like, but this is human blood." Anticipating a question from Miss Martian, he continued in the same flat tone. "I'm still not for sure if Kaldur did this, but y'know… It just looks like he did."

M'gann rubbed her arms and glanced away from the horrible sight of crimson and shattered wood. "Can you tell what happened?"

"I'm not as good as the Bats at this detective stuff, but it looks like Nightwing wa—"

Batgirl was suddenly standing behind them, her startling appearance causing the hairs on the back of Wally's neck to bristle. "Nightwing was probably thrown, due to the size of the impact crater and the magnitude of the slight blood spray." Batgirl paused for a moment. "Because of the general direction of the trail, it's most likely that the assailant threw Nightwing from here." The female Bat walked slowly until she was standing beside the puddle of water in the center of the room. If they had doubted Kaldur as a culprit before, this proved him guilty.

"You can tell he hit that crate that's jutting out. There's blood all the way around it and on the tip." Tim's voice piped up behind everyone, nearly causing Wally to jump in the air. Tim's voice sounded slightly squeakier than usual.

"You mean, Kaldur threw him onto that?" Connor's voice was low and flat. The clone was trembling with barely suppressed rage. "Like he was _trying_ to kill him?"

Tim nodded once. "It's hard to tell the damage it caused to Nightwing." His gaze dropped to the bloody pool at their feet. "It's also hard to tell if this much blood loss is fatal or not." Wally could tell Tim was very upset. _He would rather want to know if Dick was dead or alive instead of trying to guess. This guessing is killing him. _Wally paused. _It's killing all of us. _He would almost be relieved to find Dick's body because at least that meant everything was over, and they'd have something to show Batman in the end.

Beast Boy suddenly spoke up. "Look!" The green boy jumped quickly to where a few drops of blood resided by one of the exits. There were heavy craters in the dust that looked suspiciously like footsteps. "This must've been where Kaldur took Nightwing."

Wally was beside the boy in a flash, and Batgirl was not too far behind. "Let's go then," the speedster urged.

Barbara stared at spot with a frown. "Wait." She bent down, scrutinized the steps, and straightened herself up. "This was a diversion. Look at the footsteps. They're lighter; look at the size of the crater caused by the displaced dust. This looks intentionally set up."

M'gann scanned the room quickly. In the opposite corner of the warehouse was another set of footsteps. She hovered over them carefully, making sure not to disrupt anything. Not even asking permission, she levitated Batgirl directly over them. "Are these his?"

Batgirl stared at them for a moment, and then nodded once. "These are Kaldur's. The dust crater is twice as wide as the others. More dirt and dust was displaced by each step. That means a heavier boot pressed down over here. If Kaldur was carrying Nightwing, which he must have since we can't find him anywhere, his weight would be his plus Nightwing's."

Garfield whistled, thoroughly impressed despite the tragic situation. "You can't even get away with murder," he murmured. He was certainly glad that the Batfamily was on their side.

Wally threw a sharp glare at the boy. "That's what we're trying to prevent."

The younger boy lowered his eyes. "Noted," he mumbled sheepishly.

Conner had been observing the first set of footprints with a frown the entire time. "If that was where Kaldur took Nightwing, then why did he go here? Why'd he drop blood over here too?"

Wally frowned as well. "Like what Batgirl said—a diversion."

"The extra blood might have just fallen off of him," M'gann added with a shudder.

Conner narrowed his eyes and returned his gaze back to the wall. "I don't know…"

"Hey!" Tim's loud shout brought everyone to attention. "I found something!" The boy's tone was urgent and excited. Everyone rushed over, desperate to see what made the calm bird so anxious. Robin had been perched beside the pool of blood, scanning for extra clues. When the rest of his team was around him, he pointed to a random spot of blood drops.

"What is it?"

Tim frowned. "Don't you see it?"

Beast Boy made a face. "All I see are bloody dots."

"It's Morse Code. Nightwing left behind Morse Code." While the others looked doubtful, Batgirl drew in a sharp breath. In the first week of Bat-training, Bruce had made each of them find a form of communication that they preferred.

"But…?" Batgirl frowned. She didn't need to finish her sentence since Tim already knew. Dick had never liked Morse Code as much as Tim did. Instead of choosing to communicate by dots and dashes, Dick favored other methods more.

"I know," Tim muttered. "But maybe he left it for me?" Barbara nodded once.

"I don't understand..." M'gann blinked, confused on the unspoken conversation the two Bats were having.

Tim resumed studying the dots and dashes while Barbara explained. "Batman wanted us all to be familiar with a _nonconventional_ form of communication in case we were compromised or our technology failed us. Neither Nightwing nor I liked it much, but Robin really liked using Morse Code."

Wally nodded thoughtfully as if he suddenly were remembering something. "That makes sense. Nightwing probably knew Robin would be the most observant and left a message that he would catch. Anything too suspicious would have alerted Kaldur."

"Noted!" Gar nodded with a smile. He was starting to have more appreciation for his team with every passing moment.

Robin sat back suddenly with a frown. Conner raised an eyebrow. "What does it say? It can't be that bad." The Kryptonian's headache was starting to pulse again.

"Well, Di—Nightwing wasn't that good at Morse Code. That's why he didn't like it. He got some of his letters mixed up. I can't quite spell it out. Plus the, uh, situation could have made his careless in his messaging." The boy pointed to the first set of nondescript dots and squiggles. "I can't decide if this is an 'A' or a 'D.' An 'A' is supposed to be dot-dash and a 'D' is supposed to be dash-dot-dot, but I can't tell if that first thing is a dash or a dot and an extra drop." Robin proceeded to give a quick explanation of possible letters each dot and dash combination could stand for.

Wally frowned. "Do you have a few ideas on what the message could be?"

Tim ran a few anagrams through his head, spelling out various words under his breath. "It's between two words. I can't tell if that last dot is its own 'E' and the thing beside it is two dots for the 'L' or if it is supposed to be a part of the 'G' and those two dots are really a bad dash."

"What are those words? Surely we can rule one out," Miss Martian insisted. All of this talk about Morse code and dots and dashes was making her head spin.

Robin rubbed at his arms. "Alive…or dying."

The warehouse was deathly quiet for a moment. No one wanted to try to rule out the first option, but they couldn't disregard the very possible second option.

Wally stood up from his crouched position and dusted his hands. "At least it told use one thing. Nightwing obviously had to have been alive when he wrote that. He also had to have been thinking somewhat clearly. Maybe he's left other clues for us. We just have to look for them."

Conner suddenly collapsed to his knees, holding his head in agony. He growled under his breath. Wally could faintly recognize the word "Kryptonite." The speedster spun around and opened his mouth to give orders—but it was too late.

They had been in the warehouse for fifteen minutes.

The white flash of heat sped across the dark warehouse, a loud boom chasing after it. Fire leapt from the walls, and everything was crumbling to the ground.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

**Kaboomy! And yes, I learned Morse Code for you guys. It'd seem like a Dick-move for someone to leave behind scrambled Morse code xD Hope you don't mind about all the little substories. Y'know: Kaldur angstin', Supermartian a'lustburnin', Tim a'selfdoubtin', Wally a'leaderhatin', and Artemis a'missin'. Just keeping it fresh -shot-**

**- ..,. .- -. -.- ... / ._-. .-.. . .- ... . / .-. . ...- .. . ._- (Can you solve it? :D)  
EDIT: Because many of you awesome readers have answered the Morse Code Call (you guys are incredible, by the way), I have realized that FF has messed up the format of the Morse code. Every time I try to fix it, it never works. So, please excuse the weird new dots and dashes, but they still are dots and dashes xD**


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: **Sold My Soul  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Young Justice nor Young Justice Invasion. They belong to their awesome, but respective, owners.  
**Info About This Fic: **It's a sort of AU where Kaldur was evil and the plan in Depths didn't work out too well for Artie.  
**Rating:** T - Fire...?  
**Author's Note: **Clever, clever, clever readers you are. As to the Morse Code issue you guys found, that was a technical error. It wasn't my fault, seriously xD I explained it back in the past chapter...but whatev. You guys figured out the basic point of it. The characters felt really, ah, OOC today to me, so don't come into this with that high of expectations xD

**CONTEST**: (I know I've already announced this...but I really want you guys to see it xD) Since FF keeps telling me about it, I'm finally deciding to add an art cover to my story. Only, I have the artistic capabilities of a blind duck. If any of you want to design a cover, send me a PM of it or give me a link to in a review or something else. Anyway you guys can get me your images, I'd love to see them. I doubt many of you will want to actually waste your time on little ole me, but I'd be honored if any of you even attempt it. The person who's cover I would chose would get full credit in the description and at the beginning of eath chapter. The winner would also get either one YJ Youtube video of their choice (If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm x0xMacraucheniax0x on Youtube; I bet you guys don't know who that even is xD), one YJ oneshot of their choice, OR I have to answer one question about anything in _Sold My Soul_. Guys, you can ask who dies in the end and I'd _have_ to tell you. I hope to see the possible entries :D

* * *

A sudden knock at the door nearly caused Kaldur to jump in the air. "Yes?" he choked out in hoarse whisper. He did not know anyone who knew of his secret room here. _Surely it's a random mistake…_

"Kaldur? Are you in there?"

An icy hand gripped the pit of the young man's stomach. It was his father. _Why am I nervous? _the boy chastised himself. _I have done nothing wrong. I am no traitor. _"Yes, I am here, Father."

"Whatever are you doing in here? The lock seems to be broken on the outside. Are you trapped inside? I can get men to help break down this door—"

Kaldur rushed to the door, hoping against his better judgment that his disguise for Nightwing would be sufficient to momentarily hide his identity. _I do not care for the enemy's fate!_ A voice screamed back in his head. _I only saved his life to extract valuable secrets. I _will_ dispose of him later. _Kaldur took a deep breath, clearing his mind. These constant arguments with his newly found conscience were starting to become grating. He pulled the door open effortlessly, trying to give the illusion of nonchalance. "No, that won't be necessary," Kaldur almost blurted out, still unable to master his cool completely. "I am not locked inside." He did not wait to hear his father's follow-up question. "It was a faulty lock system. Instead of the lock being on the inside, it is on the outside. Perhaps it was put in wrong?" Kaldur tilted his head and forced an inquisitive smile.

Black Manta nodded immediately, trusting his son on the important matters of reversed door locks. He took a step in the room and absorbed every detail with a slow glance around the makeshift cell.

"Who is he?"

Kaldur licked his lips nervously and glanced to the figure on the bed, hiding his potentially traitorous expression of doubt from his father. "A…friend who has been injured. His injuries were more severe than I had anticipated, so I was forced to move him to a spot where he can be monitored more closely."

"Would not the infirmary be a better choice, Kaldur'ahm?" His father's voice sounded oddly disapproving.

"No!" Kaldur's loud refusal obviously started both the father and the son. The latter swung his head around and searched his father's face. Black Manta's face was well guarded. Kaldur tilted his head apologetically. "I am sorry for my outburst. What I meant was…it is safer to keep him in here. He may become delirious and hurt his fellow patients." The lie slid out of Kaldur's mouth like butter. It surprised him to see how easy it was to deceive his father. He was starting to regain control of the situation.

Unfortunately, the deception wasn't working as well as planned. The older man narrowed his eyes and studied the unconscious boy's face, trying to recognize him. "I don't believe I know him. Which unit does he serve in?"

"B02" Kaldur's answer was automatic.

"Name?"

This one made Kaldur pause for a brief moment. He said the first name that popped into his mind. "Jackson Hyde." _Where did that come from? _ He held his breath, desperately hoping his father would accept the lie.

Black Manta nodded once. "He is very lucky to have a friend like you. I must congratulate him when he is conscious."

Kaldur tipped his head again. "Yes, he is _very_ lucky." It was hard to hide the bitter ice lacing his voice. He glanced at the ground. Something blue caught in the corner of his eye. Nightwing's symbol from the shredded top of his uniform. Feeling sick inside and trying not to show it, Kaldur attempted to kick the uniform out of sight. He breathed a sigh of relief as the incriminating evidence disappeared under the bed. It wasn't just Nightwing's life at risk now; Kaldur had willingly lied to his father and superior officer. If Black Manta ever found out his son's deception to protect their enemy, Kaldur was a good as dead. Family or not. Because of his stupid conscience, Kaldur was now as trapped as his prisoner.

"This is not your friend, Garth, from the conservatory, is it? They both share dark eyebrows. You told me you were not in contact with the Atlantean."

The barely veiled accusation caught Kaldur completely off-guard. He glanced at the boy resting peacefully on the bed. The fact that his father was so observing was unnerving. With only pale skin and the dark eyebrows showing, Nightwing did slightly resemble Garth.

_Yes, but did Nightwing ever betray you and steal your love?_

_No… But he was the cause of her death!_

_She didn't love you, _Kaldur's voice snarled in his head with such venom that it frightened him, _like she loved Garth. It never would have been. _This last thought shocked Kaldur into a numb stupor.

His father's loud throat clearing brought the boy back to the present. For the first time, Kaldur didn't have to fake an emotion. A scornful laugh was ripped from his throat. "That is not Garth. He has refused to leave his _studies_ in Atlantis since the death of Aquagirl," Kaldur sneered.

"Do you miss Tula, Kaldur'ahm?" Kaldur's father's voice was soft and concerned. In some matters, Black Manta completely trusted his son. He knew what losing love could feel like.

Feeling strangely insecure, Kaldur turned away and crossed his arms. "What is in the past is in the past," he murmured in a thick voice. Although he was grateful for a distraction, this seemed to come with a painful cost.

"General Manta!" An excited voice echoed down the hall. "General Manta!"

Looking slightly annoyed, Kaldur's father poked his head out the door. "Yes? What do you want?"

The messenger looked slightly surprised to see his leader in a small, cramped room with his son and some strange patient. "Apologizes for the interruption, General Manta and Field Commander Kaldur'ahm, but I believe there is something you should see." The messenger panted, his breath somewhat labored. He had obviously been searching for the two for quite a while.

"Yes?' Black Manta's voice was gruff and barely hiding his own excitement. If it was reason enough to force a messenger to search for them, it must have held an incredible amount of importance.

"The bomb that your son set in the Blüdhaven warehouse has detonated."

Kaldur's father smiled. "Well, Kaldur. I am impressed by your intuition. It seems as if the other sidekicks did return as you said." Kaldur nodded once. "Let us go find the specifics of what happened." Without waiting for an answer, Kaldur's father swept out of the makeshift hospital cell, the still panting messenger in tow.

Kaldur stood in the silent room, blinking every so often. Without a word, he bent down, reached under the bed, and pulled out the shredded top to Nightwing's costume. With a grunt and a loud ripping sound, Kaldur tore through the tough mesh of cloth and Kevlar. Letting the rest of the forlorn costume drop to the ground, Kaldur tucked the blue bird symbol into a spare pocket in his bulky uniform. Not even sparing a glance at his prisoner, Kaldur left the room and shut the door.

* * *

For the longest time, there was just silence. The sheet rippled soundlessly through the air like a ghost and settled on the cool floor with a wordless sigh. Both teenagers stared at the elaborate setup of pillows for a while, neither unable to blink or look away. They were frozen in place as if chains bounded them to the floor.

"_Ay Dios Mio…" _Jamie murmured under his breath.

"Huh'um…" was all Cassie was about to get out.

Then, as if the spell was broken, both superheroes were released from their shocked stupor. Jamie slowly started to shake his head as Cassie's tensed shoulders relaxed.

"This makes no sense," Cassie repeated, unable to wrap her mind around what she was seeing. Which was…basically nothing.

Jamie suddenly sank down to the ground with an unhappy sigh. "I guess this means the trail has gone _dead_." He glanced at the discarded sheet beside him. "Some detectives we were," he muttered bitterly. Twice already he had failed at retrieving a missing person. _First Tye, now Artemis. Maybe I should just give up._ His Scarab was silent for once.

Cassie flopped to the ground beside Jamie with a loud sigh. A thoughtful expression twisted her pretty features. "There has to be some connection."

Unable to control his sudden black mood, Jamie shot the girl a flat look. "Tell me, Wondergirl."

Cassie was ignoring him, trying to piece together the puzzle in her mind. It felt like she was trying to fit square pegs through round holes. Nothing seemed to be connected in this puzzle, despite her earlier statement. Then suddenly the girl jumped to her feet. With a quick lunge, she grabbed Jamie's closest hand and yanked him to a standing position.

"Woah!" Jamie was unable to stop the surprised shout from leaving his mouth. Now standing, he rubbed sorely at his shoulder. "What was that for?" His hands were fanned out in front of him in a questioning way.

"Come on!" Cassie dove forward again and tried to grab his hand again. However, this time Jamie was prepared. He jerked his free hands away, letting them fall loosely behind his back.

_The female is persistent._ The Blue Scarab beeped amusedly, if such a thing were possible. Jamie didn't know if it was comforting or annoying to have the alien technology's input again.

_Yeah, I know. _Out loud, Jamie gave the girl a sour look. "What are you doing?"

Cassie's face screwed up in such a forced look of determination that Jamie would have laughed if the situation was different. "What would Nightwing do?"

"Um, what…?"

"You heard me. What would Nightwing do?" Wondergirl repeated. It sounded as if the girl was a part of a wartime recruitment ad.

"Uh, I—"

"What would Batman do? What would Batgirl do?" The questions now started to feel like bullets. "What would Robin do?"

"I'm not sure I—"

"In order to find Artemis…or her body…we have to think like detectives."

"I thought that's what we were doing…" Jamie tilted his head, examining the seemingly deranged girl in front of him. "Cassie," he started in an even tone. "Are you feeling okay?"

Cassie scowled at the boy. "I'm feeling fine, Jamie." She crossed her muscular arms and frowned. "Are you listening to me?" Jamie opened his mouth to most likely deny, but Wondergirl carried on without skipping a beat. "I know this may sound strange," Jamie resisted the urge to snort, "but I think we've been looking at this wrong. What if we looked at it being a robbery instead of a murder?"

Jamie was interested, despite himself. "But Artemis is _dead._ If there was a robbery, then it must've been after her murder."

Cassie smiled wanly. "Yeah, but if someone was looking for clues, they'd be looking for things that would lead to a murderer. We," the girl hesitated, unsure of herself now, "know that Kaldur was the one who supposedly killed Artemis. That part of the case is closed, I guess. But if we were looking for a thief, different things would be left behind."

A thoughtful silence filled the air after her speech.

_The girl's theories are plausible, _the Scarab admitted after a moment's pause.

Jamie internally agreed. With a gusty sigh, Jamie held his hand in front of him with the palms facing the ceiling in the customary sign of surrender. Cassie eyed the free hands carefully, but did not strike. "What would Nightwing do?"

Using the phrase was very different from actually answering the question. Cassie frowned, realizing the years of study one had to go through to become a Bat. It would be impossible to come up with their "plan of action" in a mere fifteen seconds. "Well, we'd start by looking at the, uh, crime scene."

Jamie nodded. _What should we scan for? Can you pick up fingerprints?_

_Yes. Can you dust them and decode who they belong to?_ The snarky beeping made Jamie cringe.

The Blue Beetle crossed his arms with a sigh. "Any suggestions?"

Cassie chewed on the bottom of her lip. "I'm better with the field stuff," she admitted with a reluctant shrug.

"Yeah, me too, I guess," Jamie stared blankly at the corner of the room.

"What else could we do?" Cassie asked loudly. When her partner didn't respond immediately, she glanced to the side. Jamie was now staring intently at the corner, eyes narrowed. His body was rigid, and his posture screamed anxiety.

"Do you see that?" he asked in a low voice.

Cassie slowly followed his gaze and froze. Out of the corner of his eye, Jamie could see the deliberate bounce of her head. Yes.

"Don't move," his strangled whisper told her. There was nothing she could do but obey.

* * *

Sometimes super speed was a curse. It enabled Wally to see and process things faster than the average human.

Sometimes it could be terrible to realize something was about to happen before anyone else could blink.

It was even worse when his reflexes refused to move as fast as his mind. Had his reaction not been slowed down the by fear and the impending fact that they were about to combust, Wally could have already had two or three members of his team blinking on the dead grass beside the warehouse. But as he raced sluggishly towards Barbara and Tim—_they'd be the least likely to escape without major damages, _he was even able to think—the fire from the explosion finally overtook him. Perhaps with a grunt, he wasn't quite sure in the loud boom, he was thrown from his feet and discarded roughly against something that broke easily under the force of his body. He felt something cool fuse with his face and forearms as fire and heat singed across his back. The speedster screwed his eyes shut as smoke burned his eyelids and scorched the inside of his nose. Somehow, his tongue tasted liked ash, even though he wasn't ever conscious of opening his mouth. _Maybe I screamed,_ the thought seemed to be traveling through mud it was so slow and fumbled. Aftershock after aftershock rolled through the warehouse, threatening to topple the aged structure to the ground. Quite frankly, Wally was amazed it was still standing.

Slowly though, relief came. The fire seemed to stop flowing in rivers across his seared back and silence echoed through the warehouse as loudly as the explosions. Gasping with pain, Wally slowly sat up. Not even daring to glance at the horrid marks on his back, Wally assessed the visible damage. His head hurt, but he doubted it was even concussed. His arms and face was sore from the impact of hitting whatever it was that he hit, but again he doubted there was permanent damage.

_My accelerated healing will help fix up whatever is on my back, _Wally told himself. He didn't know the true damage of the burns, but they were starting to hurt more as his body became more aware of itself. Finally gaining the true ability to feel his extremities, Wally felt his hands were stuck in something sticky and wet. Looking down in horror, Wally saw his hands bathing in a puddle of red. His stomach heaved. and he almost threw up from his body's reaction to the entire stressful situation. He didn't know which was worse—being in his own blood, or being in his best friend's blood. Finally taking note of where he was, Wally concluded with a sick twist in his gut that he was in Dick's blood. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the slightly smoldering piece of wood that had impaled his friend. Only a few more inches, and Wally would know exactly what kind of pain Dick must have been feeling in that moment. He shuddered, only to feel more pain dart up and down his burn wounds on his back. Knowing it was the worst thing he could do, Wally struggled to his feet, burying the pained screams of protest under his fear for his team.

"Hello?" The temporary leader tried to call. All that came out was a parched cough. His throat was also lined with ash, and his lips felt split. Wally forced himself to swallow, ignoring the nasty taste that traveled down his dry throat. He licked his lips and tried again. "Hello?"

No answer.

Wally was starting to panic. Taking deep breaths that caused his lungs to ache, Wally staggered towards a jumbled pile of burnt debris. "Conner? Meg?" He turned his head, hearing a slight scrambling sound. "Gar? Batgirl?" The sound went dead. "Robin?" Wally was trying to keep his voice from breaking. "Anyone there?"

A stirring noise and a loud grunt nearly caused Wally to jump. On the opposite side of the warehouse, a shirtless Superboy pushed the charred wreckage off of himself. Although his shirt was a casualty of war and he was missing a boot, nothing seemed to be physically wrong with the clone. Conner's face was twisted with concern and grief, however, as he stared down at the huddled form he was holding close to his bare chest. Miss Martian was unconscious, but perhaps that was for the best. A red, angry burn spanned across her right cheek, making her look more like a Christmas decoration than an injured alien.

"Is she…?" Wally managed to croak. He wondered if his back looked half as bad as that.

Conner looked up at Wally and shook his head. The clone seemed relieved. "I think she'll be alright." Although it pained Superboy to look away from his former love, he evaluated their stand-in leader. "Are you o—?"

"Fine," Wally cut the teen off. "Can you sense Batgirl, Robin, or Garfield?"

Conner was about to listen for heartbeats when a loud banging rang through the room like a shot. Wally and Conner jumped, and Miss Martian stirred slightly. The boys exchanged nervous glances. The bang echoed louder this time through the room. Silently, Wally pointed to the general direction of where the sound was coming from. One more time, the thump rang through the room. The two boys crept towards the area, M'gann barely starting to drift into consciousness.

Suddenly, with a loud grunt and the loudest crash yet, a large metal plate shot from the pile of debris, nearly hitting Conner. A black heeled boot and a slender leg poked tentatively from the new hole. Wally rushed to the hole and smiled grimly. Barbara and Tim were curled up inside, looking very flushed and hot, but very okay. The speedster offered his hand to Batgirl and hoisted the girl out of the makeshift bomb shelter. He swallowed the pain it caused him and continued to focus one getting the little bird out as well. After a little bit of huffing, both detectives stood beside the metal plate and the hot hiding hole.

"Are you guys alright?" Wally asked.

Barbara nodded while Tim scowled. "I burnt my hand while touching that metal plate." He raised his hand to show the others. Five little holes were burnt into the black gauntlet, revealing five red and shiny fingertips.

Wally suppressed a smile. All and all, the damage didn't seem that bad to his team. M'gann was now conscious, but not very strong. She was able to set up a weak telepathic link to try to find the last missing member of their team. The results of her search caused the Martian to smile faintly.

"He's alive…" she whispered hoarsely. "But he's unconscious. The moment he's awake," M'gann had to pause to take a shuttering breath, "he'll be connected with us and then we can…find him."

The others nodded, each suddenly realizing how lucky they truly had been. A brief silence filled the now gutted warehouse as pieces of ash slowly fluttered to the ground. Around them, the few remaining ashes slowly choked themselves to death. A siren was able to be briefly heard in the distance, when suddenly, the high-pitched whistle stopped too abruptly to be normal.

Conner's throaty growl rumbled through the warehouse, breaking the relatively peaceful lull.

"Someone's coming."

* * *

**Oh, Kaldy...why you so angsty? Oh, Jamie and Cassie...why you so bad at being detectives? Oh, Wally...why you so burnt?  
So, I have a feeling something BAD is going to happen next chapter. Or the chapter after that. Does anyone feel that way too?  
Thanks so much for all of your support. It's seriously what gets me to write the next chapter. Reviews especially are nice. **(I'll make a deal with you guys; get me reviews, and I'll try to include whatever you want/answer your questions left in reviews. I'll pick at least one every chapter to answer :D)


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Young Justice nor Young Justice Invasion. They belong to their awesome, but respective, owners.  
**Author's Note: **Long time no update, aye? Seriously, though. I've had the worse time getting inspiration for writing this. I have the _whole_ story planned out, ish, but I just couldn't find the inspiration to write it up. Plus I've been insanely obsessed with Merlin, and that's taken up all of my time and thoughts :D It's a beautiful show, guys, with beautiful characters and beautiful stories.  
Oh, on a side note. Rather, a main note. Who else sobbed continuously and writhed on the floor after "Darkest." I know _I _did!

* * *

_"Someone's coming."_

Wally's gaze was ripped from the door back to the clone. "Paramedics?"

Conner was silent for a moment, listening a little bit longer, trying to gain an accurate read as to who was coming. "No…" he started slowly. Then, his blank expression crumpled into a vicious sneer. He jerked forward, and had Wally not figured out what was going to happen the millisecond before with his super speed, it was very likely that the clone would have knocked a hole through the shaky wall—while still carrying the weakened M'gann—in his haste to get to the ominous visitors.

"Conner!" Wally grunted, trying to ignore the fire that laced up and down his back as he strained against the determined clone. "Who is it?" It was pointless to ask; they already knew who could make Conner that angry.

"Who do you _think_, Wally?" Conner pushed again against the retired speedster. The one of the last times Wally had seen Conner so angry was when the clone had been using the tainted power patches from his "father." Coupled with the pain across his seared flesh and his sudden exhaustion, the forceful clone would have overpowered the speedster. Luckily, Babs and Tim both recognized the potential danger. While Barbara pulled unhelpfully on Conner's shoulder, Tim tried to pull Miss Martian away before she was crushed between Superboy's hard chest and the stone walls.

"Conner!" Wally's shout and Robin's attempt to free the injured Martian finally pulled Superboy from his blinding rage.

The boy stepped back and blinked, allowing Tim to slide the barely conscious girl out of his grasp. "Sorry," he muttered, sounding as if he really wasn't quite sorry, "but Kaldur's out there," he growled. "We have to get Nightwing back." _And make him pay for what he's done. _

Barbara glanced to her right at a slightly panting Wally. For some strange reason, the speedster was having difficulty regaining his breath after restraining the angry clone. _He should be the one who recovers first. _Out of the corner of her peripheral vision, she finally saw the true damage the explosion had done to the retired sidekick.

"Conner," she started in a low voice. "I don't think we can."

"What do you mean?" the clone demanded, itching to smash through the wall and fight Kaldur head on, to the death.

"M'gann's barely conscious, Gar's missing, and Wally's hur—"

"I'm fine," the speedster hissed, interrupting Batgirl.

Conner paused, taking a second look at Wally's injuries. _He said they were fine before. Was he lying?_ Conner listened for the speedster's heartbeat as if he were monitoring a makeshift lie detector test. Instead of the rapid beat of a liar, Wally's heart rhythm was slow, even by _normal_ human standards. _His heart isn't beating enough for him. Wally was lying._

The clone glanced from his former flame to the slightly swaying speedster. "You and Robin can take them back to the Bioship. _I'll _deal with Kaldur."

"Alone?" Tim all but squawked.

"They can't hurt me," the clone was almost arrogant in the way he said it.

Batgirl was not going to give up in trying to get Superboy to see reason. "They _know_ you're here, Conner. You said so yourself that they had Kryptonite."

"I only have to stop Kaldur."

"And then what?" Miss Martian had been gaining her strength through crawls and creeps. She stirred slightly from where Tim has rested her more comfortably. "What will you do?"

Had anyone but M'gann asked the question, Conner would have disregarded it. However, because she was the one to ask it, the boy froze and thought for a moment.

"Would you kill him?" Tim asked in a small voice. "If you kill him, we'll never see Di—Nightwing again."

Conner's shoulders slumped in defeat. It was very possible that he would have completely lost his temper and destroyed their former teammate in a matter of seconds. Kryptonite or no kryptonite, there was nothing that could have stopped him.

He sighed loudly. "You're right," he grudgingly admitted. He was unable to give up on the hope that they could save their former baby bird. "But we need to find Nightwing as soon as possible," he urged in a forceful tone. "If we don't…"

Wally finally decided to reenter the conversation. "_You're _right, Conner. Now is when we need to stop Kaldur." Barbara shot him a dark look, but didn't object. The burnt speedster turned to the two remaining members of the Bat Family. "You two—take Miss M back to the Bioship. Superboy, you and I will _wait _and _watch_ to see what Kaldur is here for." He pinned the clone to the spot with an unnaturally dark glare. "We _aren't_ going to engage until Batgirl and Robin return. You voted me to be the leader; that's what we're going to do," he finished, his firm tone inviting anyone to try to argue.

It was clear that neither Barbara nor Conner was very happy with this idea, but they nodded nonetheless.

"As soon as Miss Martian can connect with Beast Boy completely, we'll find his location," Wally glanced around the dank and decrepit warehouse, "where ever it is."

Again, the others nodded, M'gann even offering weak smile. Just then, another dark growl was ripped from Conner. "Someone's right outside," he muttered under his breath.

Wally nodded. "Split up and regroup outside by the Bio—argh!" Suddenly the speedster swayed violently, nearly dropping to his knees in pain. After a moment of intense heavy breathing, he attempted to straighten up. The others stared at him with mixed expressions of fear, worry, and anger. He tried to repeat his order, but the burns across his back became too painful to stand. Clamping his mouth shut to prevent a scream from breaking through, he pointed towards the door, eyes watering slightly from the pain.

Conner took the place of temporary leader. "Take M'gann," he addressed the two Bats, "and meet us outside. I'll take Wally." Batgirl nodded as she helped hoist M'gann to her feet. Superboy watched anxiously as the three melded into the shadows. He bent, scooped the slightly shuddering Wally gently into his arms, and backed out of the vacant warehouse.

The moment he left the main room, the telltale sound of a heavy door slamming echoed through the scorched trap. Anger rippled briefly through the clone, but the light weight of the singed speedster in his arms reminded Conner that he couldn't stay to fight. Hoping the best for Garfield and for Nightwing, he slowly snuck out of the warehouse.

* * *

_"Don't move."_

The two teens were locked in place, staring at the worry-inducing object with wide eyes.

"What is it?" Cassie muttered, barely moving her lips to whisper the question.

"I'm not sure…" _Scan? _Even managing to beep in hushed tones, the Scarab returned immediately with a somber answer. Jamie listened to the beeping with a rapidly falling expression.

Cassie did not like the final look on the Blue Beetle's face when he received all the information he needed from the namesake life form. "What is it?" she repeated, not daring to raise her voice above a whisper.

"It's a bomb," replied Jamie. "But it's really sensitive and motion triggered. The Scarab says it would be impossible to disarm it from a distance due to its sensitivity."

Cassie blinked once. "You mean to disarm it to save the hospital bay? You are nearly invincible, right?"

"No. Not without my armor on. Putting on the scarab suit would only trigger it."

"Oh, well, uh," Cassie frowned, resisting the urge to rub her reddening neck. _There I go again. Opening my big mouth. _"No problem. You or I can just go over and disarm it manually. Problem solved."

If he hadn't been transformed into a living statue by the threat of the bomb, Jamie would have shaken his head at the girl. "That's the problem though. Do you see that red light?"

"Yeah…?"

"That means it's armed. If we move at any time, it'll go off immediately."

Chewing lightly on the concealed, inside part of her lip, Cassie tried to reason through this. With her advanced speed, she could easily zoom from the room to escape any of the blast damage. However, she wouldn't be fast enough to pick up Jamie first, who was on the opposite side of the table and further from the door.

"So we stay here then?"

Jamie sighed softly through his teeth. "I guess so. I'd try to run more tests on it—to see where it came from, or who might have put it there—but I'm afraid the Scarab's pulses might set it off."

"Yeah, don't set it off," Cassie frowned. The two were silent for a moment, a slightly awkward pause settling between them. Then, Wondergirl broke the tense moment. "My nose is really itchy," she remarked matter of factly. "I want to scratch it."

"_Don't_ move," Jamie repeated. He already figured as well that Cassie would have a much better chance to survive if the bomb went off. He didn't fancy dying due to an "itchy nose," especially when Cassie would make it out relatively scratch free. _No pun intended, _he growled darkly in his mind.

_Is humor a tactic that humans use to distract themselves from impending crises? _Jamie ignored his Scarab's scathing remark._ Coming up with plans to disarm the bomb would be a better use of your time. _

"What are we going to do?" the girl asked again, allowing her eyes to slide quickly across the room, searching for another way out. "Call for help?" She offered.

"I suppose…" Jamie looked doubtful. "Would anyone hear us?"

"SOMEONE!" The loud shout nearly caused Jamie to flinch. Instead he winced slightly, immediately praying that it wasn't too sharp of a movement to set off the bomb. "BOMB IN THE MED BAY!"

"D'you think anyone will hear us?" the boy repeated.

Instantly a _woosh_ of air blew through the room, lifting up a strand of Cassie's blonde hair and tossing it casually behind her. The girl stiffened automatically at the shift of hair. Jamie's frown deepened. _Anyone but _him.

"Did someone just shou—Blue B? WondGirl? What are you doing here?" He took a step forward, almost entering the room, but jumped backwards immediately at the insistent shouts of both Jamie and Cassie.

"Don't come in here!" Jamie insisted.

"There's a bomb!" Cassie added.

Bart Allen glanced back and forth across the room. A weird cross between a smirk and frown was stretched across his face; he was having a hard time figuring out if this was real or a joke. When the other two didn't move, and he noticed the missing body of the archer, Impulse's face sobered up immediately.

"You're serious?" He resisted the urge to poke his head back through the door. "That is so not crash. Totally mode. _Really _mode. Hey, what are you guys even doing here in the fir—"

"We'll explain that later," Jamie hastily interrupted. They had no way of knowing if whether or not the bomb was also on a timer, set to go off at a certain time after being triggered.

"Can you help us get out of here, Bart?" Cassie asked eagerly.

The speedster grinned. "Totally, WG." His gaze darted from Jamie to Wondergirl. "Whataya need me to do? Do you need me to move the bomb somewhere else? That would be so crash! Or d'ya want me to—"

"We just need to you help us get out of here," Jamie interrupted again.

Since the Blue Beetle wasn't going to say it, Cassie had to. "I can get out by myself, but Jamie isn't fast enough. Can you get him out?"

Jamie scowled as Impulse swung his head around to study him. "You aren't invincible, BB, Blue B, Bee_tal_?"

"_No._"

"That's not crash. Totally mode." He then thought about what Cassie had said. His face split into an even wider grin. "Woah. This would be just like when I sav—I mean, helped out Gramps."

"So, on the count of thr—?"

"Three!" Bart shouted, darting within the room, skirting around the bodiless table in a blur. Cassie barely had enough time to close her mouth before a harsh shove from Impulse reminded her that she had to get out of the room as fast as possible. Instantly, Cassie sprang into the air, speeding as fast as she could towards the door. The moment she crossed through the empty doorway, she was faintly aware of a loud boom and a flash of heat at her back. _I hope they're alright_ briefly flitted through her mind. Finally deeming it safe to stop, Cassie skidded to a halt, falling to her knees and panting slightly. All in all, it was a relative success for her.

For Jamie, the past few events were perhaps one of the most embarrassing and horrible moments of his life. He was thankful that it only lasted .736 seconds, because he was fairly certain that if the moment had lasted a full, agonizingly long second, Jamie would have preferred to let the explosion get him. Impulse all but dragged him out of the room, tumbling over Wondergirl, and landed in a three hero pile.

Jamie groaned, and tried to untangle himself from the other two sidekicks. Impulse was instantly back on his feet, trying to help them while commenting about how "crash" the entire thing had been. His attempts to help only ended up in a disaster as his rushing movements caused them to become even more tangled. After a few moments of struggling, Jamie finally was able to crawl away from the group, noticing a pair of light black boots in his vision. Jamie slowly followed the netted legs, starting again to wish that he had been trapped in the demolished hospital bay.

Bart looked up and groaned. "Oh, totally feeling the mode…" He tried to sneak away, but a firm glare from Black Canary kept him pinned down.

"_What. Happened?" _

* * *

The warehouse was still trembling when Garfield woke up.

Or, at least, it may have been his shell that was still rattling from the explosion. The shape shifter gingerly poked his long, tortoise-y neck out of the shell and surveyed the damage. As he expected, the warehouse around him was demolished. Assuming from the revealed, dark sky above him, he also expected to be the only occupant in the building. He had felt M'gann find him with her mental powers, and he knew they were mostly likely on the trail of Kaldur and Nightwing, waiting for him to catch up with them eventually.

However, he most certainly did not expect to have company within the desolate warehouse. Especially not the same villain who they were supposed to be tracking. Kaldur was standing in the middle of the vacant warehouse, holding a shred of fabric in his dark gauntlets. The son of Black Manta seemed to be trembling.

But then again, everything was still a bit fuzzy to the green shape shifter. If he hadn't been so disoriented and weak, Beast Boy would have launched himself at the Atlantean at that moment in the guise a tiger, or velociraptor, and not held back. Instead, he was forced to snuggle himself deeper into the debris to prevent being seen.

He needn't have bothered; Kaldur was too consumed in his thoughts to bother searching the surely abandoned warehouse. The fair-haired villain adjusted the cloth in his hands, staring glumly at the pool of blood in front of him. Gar nearly gasped aloud as Kaldur unfolded the square of fabric to reveal Nightwing's emblem. He watched Black Manta's son intently, wondering what Kaldur was doing with Nightwing's uniform.

Kaldur's mouth opened slightly, but he didn't say anything. The older boy looked almost _regretful._ Garfield wasn't quite sure what he was seeing.

_Wait… What is Aqualad doing? Does that mean Nightwing's...dead….? _

_Garfield…?_

_Megan! Are you okay?_

_I'm…fine._

Garfield frowned, focusing solely on his adoptive sister instead of the unfolding action with Kaldur. _Are you sure? You sou—_

_I'm _ sister insisted sharply. _Sorry, _she instantly apologized. _Are you okay?_

_Yeah, just a little shell-shocked. _It took all of Garfield's self-control to not giggle at the pun. He refocused on Kaldur when the young man opened his mouth again. _But, there's somethi—_

Kaldur was about to whisper something, when gunshots split the silent air.

_Gar! _

Kaldur jumped at the sound, spinning around with wide eyes. "What are they doing?" he asked aloud. Gar almost thought he was conversing with him. The Atlantean reached for one of his water bearers, allowing the scrap of Nightwing's costume to flutter to the ground, landing in the pool and becoming drenched in Nightwing's blood. He dashed out of the warehouse, leaving Beast Boy alone in the empty room.

Crawling out of the debris, and then morphing back into a humanoid form, Beast Boy slowly walked towards the area that Kaldur had just occupied. He bent down stiffly, groaning at his sore, cramped muscles.

_Turtle shells aren't roomy._

He gently picked up Nightwing's shredded emblem, carefully turning it so that he didn't touch any of the precious blood. He reverently folded it, and slipped it in one of his pockets. The sounds of more gunfire caused him to jump, and ripped him back into the bleak future.

_No…_

* * *

When Kaldur burst from the vacant warehouse, he was shocked at the scene unfolding in front of him. It looked almost like a war with soldiers in the trenches. Kaldur's former teammates were pressed against one side of the warehouse and a few stacks of rotten limber. His father's men were advancing on them, dark bullets flying out of their guns.

_Why are they using guns? _Kaldur studied the bullets as they screamed through the air. _Green bullets? They're laced with Kryptonite. _He glanced back over to the young sidekicks. Conner was already starting to look a bit pale, and he was partially being supported by the young bird. _Nightwing's second replacement, _Kaldur noted as an off thought. As he surveyed the rest of the group, none of the sidekicks looked particularly well in health. He noticed with pursed lips that Wally was still alive, though he resembled a piece of burnt toast more so than a speedster. The Martian was also still breathing, but she was barely conscious and critically injured.

_My plans did not work,_ Kaldur frowned. _Father may not be pleased._ Spotting his father, Kaldur made his way over to Black Manta, dodging around the firing soldiers.

Although his hood was on, Kaldur knew his father was grinning. "You were right about the warehouse, Kaldur'ahm."

The son tipped his head slightly at his father. "I regret that the plan did not work."

"Do not criticize yourself." He turned his head to watch his men's progress on taking down the Superboy clone. "Now we can ensure that these thorns will never prick our sides' again."

Kaldur nodded once, unsure of what else to say. He glanced over to where Conner was struggling to remain standing, leaning very heavily on Robin. They were trying to get back under cover, but Superboy's weakened state left them extremely vulnerable and out in the open. Noticing that their target was exposed, a large roar rose from the attackers, and a volley of shots was directed towards Superboy and Robin.

"Superboy! Robin! Look out!"

With a loud scream, a Kryptonite bullet ripped through one of the sidekicks. He collapsed to the ground, clutching the hole in his abdomen. Kaldur watched the boy fall with wide eyes, feeling some buried emotion twist sharply in his gut.

_"NO!"_

* * *

**Cliffhanger?  
Thank you so much for reading! Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed!  
**(Time to answer those questions you guys had! :D {To Celestialstarynight: Jackson Hyde was Kaldur's name in the comics} [To .Nightingale: I sold my soul to be a decent writer ((geddit? xD)) Just kidding, but thanks :D Anyway, I referenced Jason quite a bit, but never by name. Always by "second Robin" and "predecessor" and "successor"])  
(Naturally, I can't answer those Artemis questions xD)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Young Justice nor Young Justice Invasion. They belong to their awesome, but respective, owners.  
**Author's Note: **Guys! You must fight against CN's decision to postposne DC Nation! Go sign a petition, please, or email Cartoon Network! D:  
(Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I just recieved my 100th review :D Thank you so much!)  
(Oh, and some of you guys might know I edit YJ and DC videos on Youtube under the name x0xMacraucheniax0x. Anyway, I'm creating a promotional trailer for Sold My Soul. If any of you guys are really interested, I can give you a sneak peak :D)

* * *

_"Superboy! Robin! Look out!"_

Amidst the chaos of the flying bullets and the panicked shouts of the young heroes, only one person was actually aware of everything that was ricocheting around him. He tried to shout at the two struggling young men, but they couldn't hear him over the screams of the whistling missiles. The ginger's pained grimace deepened as he leaned heavily against the barricade Barbara had placed him behind. Even though his vision was swimming painfully around him, he was still able to catch all of the details that the others were missing. His back was on fire, but he was slightly grateful for the pain, because it kept him relatively alert.

Wally shifted with a gasp, trying to position himself better so that he was able to watch the steadily advancing group of Black Manta's men. Only he was able to see the rogue shooter who was about ready to take a clear shot at the Kryptonian and his feathered protector. Wally opened his mouth to warn them again, but he knew it would be futile.

The fastest boy alive knew he had to do something. He was the only one who could stop the speeding bullet.

He ripped himself away from his much needed peace, and lurched painfully towards the two young heroes. Launching himself, Wally all but tripped with super speed just in time to usher the exposed Robin behind him. Milliseconds later, the speedster felt the Kryptonite shard rip through his gut, tearing itself deep through his stomach. Fire flared from the entrance wound, the bullet slowed down enough by the flesh to halt within the speedster's body. Without meaning to release one, a tortured scream was ripped from his lips. Wally jerked, his knees locking as his trembling hands flew to his abdomen. He was barely holding on to consciousness when black swarmed around him like adoring fans.

_"NO!"_

* * *

Robin had been focused only on getting the Kryptonian clone out of the dangerous path. He had completely forgotten that he too was incredibly vulnerable. Luckily M'gann was conscious enough to call the Bioship, but it would be moment longer before the ship would come. As Tim strained to keep Superboy supported, he urged the Bioship forcefully in his mind to hurry. He couldn't hear Wally's shouts, but some sixth sense he'd learned from his Bat-training caused the hairs on the back of his neck to prickle uncomfortably.

Just then, Tim was bundled away from Conner in a quick blur. The Kryptonian sank to the ground with a low and sick moan. Tim tried to reach to help him, but a pair of hands held him firmly behind one of his teammate's back. Suddenly his human shield jolted, and Robin was suddenly covered in a spray of red. Wally shuddered, and tipped backwards into the little bird's limp arms. Robin was nearly knocked to his knees as he strained to keep the fallen speedster upright.

M'gann stirred, her amber gaze settling briefly on the downed Wally. In a flash of green, her eyes lit up to the most horrifying shade.

_"NO!" _

Instantly, all of the eagerly approaching enemies either flew backwards or crumpled to the ground. Breathing heavily, Miss Martian lowered her arms, which had flown out when she sent the powerful telekinetic blast.

Unable to support the profusely bleeding speedster anymore, Tim's knees gave out on him. Both he and the unconscious Wally collapsed, Tim drawing in a sharp breath as the impact jarred them both. He replaced Wally's limp hands with his own, pressing down hard on the gaping hole. The moment he forced pressure on the wound, a spurt of blood sprayed his face with the crimson liquid. He squeezed his eyes shut as the warm liquid seeped through the tiny holes in his gauntlet. Pressing down harder, he silently urged Wally to stay alive.

"Where's the Bioship, M'gann?" Batgirl demanded in a low voice. Her sharp, terrified gaze flickered from the slowly recovering group of assailants to the slowly dying speedster.

"It's coming. Now." The Martian whispered, brown eyes scanning the skies with a worried look. She was finally starting to recover when half of their little team was compromised. With a low whistle, the Bioship settled down next to the heroes.

"Get them! Now! Before they escape!"

Barbara reached into her utility belt, launching everything she had in it at the oncoming attackers. Again, they fell back, coughing and bound by the ankles. The door of the Bioship slid open, and the others exchanged glances, wondering how they were going to get their fallen teammates on board.

"You get Wally," Batgirl commanded, backing away from the carnage she caused to stand beside the dying Wally. "Robin and I'll bring Conner."

M'gann nodded without making a sound. She slowly lifted her hands to her temples and allowed her eyes to glow green. Slowly the still speedster rose in the air. Tim tried to cover the spot where the Kryptonite fragment had ripped through Wally, but as the body rose higher, his hand slipped from Wally's wound. He looked down at his dripping, crimson stained gauntlet with disgusted horror, and his white eyelets were extremely huge. At Barbara's frantic urging, they helped pull the disregarded Superboy to his feet, and half dragged him up the Bioship's loading platform. M'gann quickly followed with the gently bobbing Wally. The Martian paused on the dock, hesitating for a moment.

"Come on!" someone from inside the ship pressed.

"What about Garfield?"

Barbara appeared next to M'gann. Taking the Martian's hand, she led the green girl back inside the ship. "He'll be fine. I promise." Blue eyes locked gazes with light hazel orbs. "I swear, everyone will be fine. But we have to go." M'gann nodded and settled herself immediately at the controls. Wally floated calmly in the air beside her.

When the ship was finally airborne, heading straight for Mount Justice, Tim finally allowed himself to stray to one of the windows. As he looked down, he had to suppress a shudder.

Many feet below him, Black Manta's son was watching them leave with an unreadable expression.

_Was he satisfied with how it all unfolded…?_

* * *

_"What. Happened?"_

Like most times when a group of very guilty people are met with this question, the only rational thing to do is to stay completely silent and not let their nervous side glances incriminate each other.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about," snapped the feathered vigilante. "What happened? I want an answer now."

The three young heroes exchanged looks, each urging the other to explain. Finally, Jaime sighed, deciding it was partially his fault that there was no Med Bay in Mount Justice anymore.

"We, Cassie and I, thought that there was something strange going on. Something that you guys weren't telling us," Jaime watched her face carefully. Dinah's stony expression did not falter—either she was a better liar than Batman, or she didn't know what was going on either. "We went to investigate."

Dinah crossed her arms, and one of her eyebrows rose. _And you needed explosives to do this,_ her expression seemed to ask.

"On the hallway down to the Med Bay, the Sca-I mean, I ran a few sensor tests. Four people went down the hallway, but only three went out. Three _living_ people."

"So we went to the Medical Bay to see if Artemis was there, because that's where Superboy and M'gann dropped her off, but she was gone!"

"Gone?" Black Canary frowned. "What do you mean by _gone?"_

Impulse shrugged, imputing himself in the conversation for the first time. "She wasn't there. Gone. Missing. Not to be found."

"How did the Medical Bay get blown up then? We could have searched it for clues as to who took Artemis's body."

"There was a motion bomb set up."

Black Canary was now starting to look deeply trouble. "A _bomb?"_

Cassie nodded slowly, "Blue couldn't disable it because it was already activated. If we would have moved one more inch, it would have blown both of us up." She glanced to the side at Jaime, who nodded his agreement.

"It was also on a timer, so it was going to go off regardless of if we were there."

"Then how did you escape? Were you close enough to the door?"

Jaime sent a sideways glance at Impulse, daring him to say another world. "_Not exactly._ Bart was able to help out. We barely were able to get out before the bomb went off."

"Are you sure that Artemis's body was missing?"

The others nodded somberly.

Black Canary frowned deeply, crossing her arms. Her leather jacket squeaked slightly, being the only noise in the now silent debris field. "That bomb would have concealed the fact that her body was stolen," she looked back at the three young heroes, who had finally managed to completely detangle themselves. "It also would have _removed_ any person who saw that she was missing."

"So, what are we going to do?"

Dinah bit her lip hard enough for the blood to pool and darken her lips. "Because the majority of the League is gone, and this is a _very_ private case, we won't make a public announcement on it."

"So will we still investigate?" Wondergirl urged quickly. "I mean, someone _took _Artemis. We have to do _something._"

"There will be an investigation—but, only for the remaining Leaguers." Black Canary cut down their excited smiled quickly. "_You_ three will return to the main room, and not mention this to anyone else. _Understand_?"

The three teens never got to respond, since at that moment, the alarms echoed around Mount Justice, alerting the other operatives that the Bioship was returning with the Alpha team. Black Canary frowned when the alarms turned to piercing sirens, announcing that something on the ship was very wrong.

"What happened?" Jaime glances at the flash red light in the corner.

"Does that mean they found Nightwing?" Cassie's worried look contrasted sharply with her hopeful question.

Tim suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway, panting slightly. The others jumped back when they noticed his costume was drenched with crimson.

"Robin! Are you alright?" Black Canary all but ran to the boy.

Tim nodded quickly, no time for comments on his own health. When his eyes landed on the charred remains of the Med Bay, the white slits on his domino mask widened drastically. "We _need_ the Med Bay," he started desperately. "Wally's been shot."

* * *

_Robin. Have they prepped the Med Ba-?_

_It's _gone.

_What? Robin, we need to get Wally off of this ship and into a hospital _now. _What is going on?_

_The Medical Bay. It's been destroyed. Someone blew it up._

There was only a slight static fuzz on the mental line.

_What do we do, Batgirl?_

The female bat sighed loudly, glancing back at the unconscious Wally by her side. He was losing too much blood, thanks to his rapid heartbeat, and his wounds were too fatal for a normal hospital to treat.

_We have to take him to the best surgeon we know._

Again, there was silence on the line. _Alfred?_ Tim guessed.

_Yeah._ Barbara grimaced, waiting for the bird's reply. They both knew that she had yet to fly the Bioship solo, so their two metahuman friends would have to come along with them. Besides, based on their appearances, they needed medical care as well.

_But won't Batman get mad at us for revealing the cave? Remember how made he was when Di—Nightwing let Wal—_

_We don't have time to talk about this, Robin. _Barbara snapped back. She glanced around to see if anyone else on the Bioship was participating in the conversation, but even M'gann still looked dazed. They were safe to talk without anyone overhearing. _Besides, _she added in a softer tone, _I doubt Bruce'll mind if we do it to save Wally. M'gann and Conner were part of the original team too._

_He was afraid of traitors, _Tim protested quickly. _Kaldur was a part of the original team too,_ he reminded her.

Barbara hesitated, looking down at the rapidly paling Wally. He now looked so sickly that his freckles almost seemed black. _It's a chance we'll have to take. _

Tim nodded, saying nothing more. He understood.

_Just bring Wally back safe._

Barbara was silent for a moment. _We'll bring them all back safe. _She repeated, not for the last time.

She pushed her conversation with Robin out of the way and turned to the slouching M'gann. "The Med Bay is out," she explained quickly, if the Martian hadn't been paying attention to the mental conversation. The Martian nodded once, shooting a fearful look at the prone speedster.

"What are we going to do?"

Barbara sighed. "How do you feel about dark caves?"

* * *

Although his charges were away on their own little missions, Alfred was tackling the most challenging task imaginable—cleaning the Batcave. When the alarm sounded, alerting him of a visitor, the old man smiled and straightened his sore back.

_I hope Master Bruce has returned, or Master Timothy has convinced Master Richard to spend the night. His laughter is sorely missed. _However, the manservant's smile faded slightly, when the alarm persisted. Only foreign crafts made that sound when they entered. _Whoever they are, they knew the code to disarm the automatic defenses. Surely they must be allies of Master Bruce. _Still, the elderly butler clutched his broom closer to himself, prepared to do what he must to protect his cave.

When the red prow of the Bioship emerged from the darkness, Alfred released a weary breath. They were friends, but did they bring bad tidings?

Immediately Batgirl dropped out of the suddenly formed drop off hole.

"Miss Gor—I mean, Batgirl? What brings you here?"

Barbara's lip was a firm slash as the ship landed gently on the empty tarmac, and the bay door slid open. "There was a problem with a mission—we have casualties, but the Medical Bay at Mount Justice is not functioning. This was the only place I could thi—"

"Whatever is the matter, Miss Batgirl?" Alfred's formality would not drop, despite the painful fear gnawing at his gut. He had yet to see either of his two birds leave the ship, although members of Richards's first team slowly piled out. He saw the Martian girl, who Richard insisted was an awful cook, and the Kryptonian clone, whose plight had led to many angry, Superman-related rants. M'gann, Alfred remembered her name, was badly burnt, and Superboy was finally starting to wake out of his weak stupor, although he still looked positively green.

"Caring for them would be no problem, Miss Batgirl," Alfred started uncertainly. He only dabbled briefly in the healing of extraterrestrials, but their injuries seemed relatively superficial. It wasn't until he noticed Barbara's anxious expression did he realize that there was another passenger on board the Bioship.

"It's Wally," the butler could hear the girl whisper hoarsely. "He was shot…he's dying."

* * *

Watching the young heroes retreat had been a treat for Black Manta. He glanced to his side to see his son, pale faced and trembling slightly.

"Are you unwell, Kaldur'ahm? I assumed that that spectacle put on by your former teammates would have amused you. Surely the speedster is now dead. His heart will quickly pump the blood from his body. The Kryptonian clone was also caught by one of our bullets. Hopefully the shard will kill him as well. Are you not pleased with the day's events?"

"I am," Kaldur swallowed, "pleased."

"Then what ails you, son?"

The son forced a blank expression on his face. "It has been a while since I have spent so much time on the surface world. My body is adjusting; I am fine." Black Manta nodded once. Kaldur hesitated before starting again. "I believe the Martian was also seriously injured from the explosion, although I fear she may recover."

The armored villain shrugged in his heavy armor as if to say "it is what it is." He assured his son that his former team would not see the light of day much longer before turning back around and heading for the ships. Kaldur did not immediately follow. Instead, he glanced back over to where the speedster had been hit. He was positive that if he went over there to look, there would be a blood pool not unlike the one that used to be in the now demolished warehouse. Both his twisting gut and the urgent call from his father prevented him from checking.

However, he delayed just long enough for an emerald limpet to attach itself neatly and unseen to the side of Kaldur's boot.

* * *

I apologize for the short , sorry if it seems rushed. I tried to solve up some cliffhangers, but I think I only made things worse :-\  
**Anyway, thank you so much for reading!**


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